THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 
COMMODORE  BYRON  MCCANDLESS 


CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER   HILL 


CITY   HALL. 

[Drawn  by  A.  R.  WAUD.    Engraved  by  A.  V.  S.  ANTHONY.] 


CELEBRATION 


CENTENNIAL  ANNIVERSARY 


BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL. 


WITH    AN     APPENDIX    CONTAINING    A    SURVEY   OF   THE 

LITERATURE      OF      THE      BATTLE,      ITS 

ANTECEDENTS   AND   RESULTS. 


Boston; 

PRINTED  BY  ORDER  OF  THE   CITY  COUNCIL. 

MDCCCLXXV. 


CITY    OF    BOSTON. 


IN  BOARD  OF  ALDERMEN,  June  21.  1875. 

ORDERED,  That  the  Clerk  of  Committees  be  requested  to  prepare  and  print  an 
account  of  the  celebration  in  this  city,  commemorative  of  the  centennial  anniver- 
sary of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill ;  and  that  one  thousand  copies  be  printed  for 
the  use  of  the  City  Government,  to  be  distributed  under  the  direction  of  the 
Committee  on  Printing,  the  expense  to  be  charged  to  the  appropriation  for 
Incidentals. 

IN  COMMON  COUNCIL,  July  1,  1875. 
Concurred. 
Approved  July  3d,  1875. 


Press    of 

ROCKWELL      AND      CHURCHILL, 
39     Arch     Street,     Boston. 


CONTENTS. 


PRELIMINARY  ARRANGEMENTS  .         . 

Mayor's  Inaugural  Address 

Report  of  Special  Committee  . 

Order  of  City  Council 
'  City's  Programme    .         . 

City's  Invitations      .... 

Action  of  the  Legislature 

Circular  of  Chief  Marshal 

Notice  of  the  Chief  of  Police 
RECEPTION  IN  Music  HALL 

The  Mayor's  Welcome    . 

Remarks  of  Gov.  Gaston 

Remarks  of  Col.  A.  O  Andrews       . 

Remarks  of  Gen.  Fitz  Hugh  Lee     . 

Remarks  of  Gen.  J.  C.  Kilpatrick   . 

Remarks  of  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman  . 

Remarks  of  Gen.  A.  E.  Burnside    . 

Remarks  of  Vice-President  Wilson 
THE  PROCESSION 

The  Decorations 

The  Review 

The  Chief  Marshal  and  Staff  . 

Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia 

First  Division  of  Procession   . 

Second  Division  of  Procession 

Third  Division  of  Procession  . 

Fourth  Division  of  Procession 

Fifth  Division  of  Procession    . 

Sixth  Division  of  Procession   . 

Seventh  Division  of  Procession 

Eighth  Division  of  Procession 

Ninth  Division  of  Procession  . 


PAGE 
9 
12 
12 
13 
13 
14 
15 

16-21 
21 
25 

26-34 
35 

36-41 
41 
43 
45 
46 
46 
51 
51 
52 
52 
53 
55 
57 
61 
63 
64 
65 
67 
68 
69 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

SERVICES  ON  BUNKER  HILL •     .  75 

Prayer  by  Kev.  Rufus  Ellis 76 

Hymn  —  Prayer  before  Battle 77 

Address  of  Hon.  Charles  Devens,  Jr 78 

Hymn,  written  by  Charles  James  Sprague 126 

Address  by  Hon.  G.  Washington  Warren 127 

Remarks  of  General  Sherman 130 

Remarks  of  Governor  Hartranft 132 

Song,  written  by  Charles  James  Sprague 134 

Remarks  of  Governor  Bedle 134 

Remarks  of  Governor  Dingley 137 

Remarks  of  Vice-President  Wilson 138 

Despatch  from  San  Francisco 140 

Despatch  from  New  Orleans 140 

Ode,  written  by  Geo.  Sennott 141 

Hymn,  written  by  G.  Washington  Warren 142 

Letter  from  Governor  Ingersoll 143 

Letter  from  Mayor  of  New  Orleans         ......  144 

Letter  from  Mayor  of  Memphis 145 

Letter  from  Mayor  of  Omaha          .         .         .         .     •    .         .         .  146 

Despatch  from  Ladies  of  Allentown,  Pa. 147 

Despatch  from  National  Board  of  Trade 147 

APPENDIX  :  — 

Literature  of  Bunker  Hill,  with  its  antecedents  and  results      .         .  151 


PRELIMINARY  ARRANGEMENTS. 


PRELIMINARY  ARRANGEMENTS. 


IN  his  inaugural  address  to  the  City  Council  of  Boston,  on  the 
5th  of  January,  1875,  the  Mayor  —  Hon.  SAMUEL  C.  COBB  — 
referred  to  the  approaching  centennial  anniversary  in  the 
following  words :  — 

"  The  centennial  epoch  of  our  national  history  is  close 
at  hand.  Preparations  are  now  being  made  to  celebrate 
the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence, on  a  grand  scale,  in  the  city  from  which  that 
momentous  document  was  promulgated.  The  startling 
events  in  Boston  and  its  vicinity,  in  1775,  aroused 
the  sympathetic  patriotism  of  the  sister  colonies,  and 
justified  and  made  possible  that  "solemn  act  of  the 
Continental  Congress  of  1776.  Those  events  will  be 
commemorated.  Our  neighbors  at  Lexington  and  Con- 
cord are  preparing  for  the  local  celebration  of  the  acts 
of  heroism  which  have  rendered  those  names  famous. 
The  scene  of  the  first  great  revolutionary  combat  is  now 
within  our  municipal  limits.  The  patriotic  Association 
which  has  charge  of  the  grounds  will,  doubtless,  initiate 
measures  for  the  due  observance  of  the  17th  of  June 
next,  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill.  It  will  be  for  you  to  consider  to  what  extent  this 
government  can  properly  co-operate  with  them."  . 


12  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OP   THE 

This  portion  of  the  Mayor's  address  was  referred  to  a  joint 
special  committee  of  the  City  Council,  consisting  of  Aldermen 
Thomas  B.  Harris  and  Solomon^  B.  Stebbins,  Councilmen 
Edwin  Sibley,  Eugene  H.  Sampson  and  Isaac  P.  Clarke. 
The  committee  reported  on  the  12th  of  April,  as  follows  :  — 

The  joint  special  committee  to  which  was  referred  so  much  of  the 
Mayor's  inaugural  address  as  relates  to  the  celebration  of  the  17th  of 
June  next,  having  carefully  considered  the  subject,  beg  leave  to 
submit  the  following  report :  — 

The  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  first  great  battle  of  the  Amer- 
ican Eevolution  is  an  event  which  clearly  calls  for  recognition  and 
commemorative  action  on  the  part  of  the  municipal  authorities  of 
Boston ;  and  the  only  question  would  seem  to  be  the  extent  and 
character  of  the  action  which  it  would  be  proper,  and,  under  the 
circumstances,  desirable,  for  the  city  government  to  take. 

Your  committee  have  conferred  with  the  representatives  of  the 
State  and  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association  ;  but  no  definite 
action  can  be  taken  until  the  representatives  of  the  city  are  duly  au- 
thorized to  give  their  assent  to  such  arrangements  as  may  be  agreed 
upon  for  the  celebration. 

It  is  proposed,  on  the  part  of  the  State,  to  invite  as  its  guests  the 
principal  executive  officers  of  the  United  States  and  governors  of  the 
several  States  ;  and  to  order  out,  for  review  and  for  escort  duty,  the 
entire  militia  organization  of  this  State.  With  a  view  to  secure 
harmony  of  action,  and  prevent  confusion  in  carrying  out  the  details, 
it  is  suggested  that  all  the  other  matters  connected  with  the  cele- 
bration —  except  the  delivery  of  the  oration,  for  whick  arrangements 
have  already  been  made  by  the  Monument  Association  —  should  be 
under  the  control  and  management  of  the  city.  On  that  basis  an 
approximate  estimate  has  been  prepared  of  the  expense  which  the  city 
would  be  called  upon  to  bear,  amounting  in  the  total  to  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  and  the  committee  would  respectfully  recommend  the  passage 
of  an  order  appropriating  that  amount.  .  .  .  «  ..... 

Respectfully  submitted, 

For  the  Committee, 

THOMAS   B.   HARRIS, 

»  Chairmay,. 


BATTLE    OP   BUNKER  HILL.  13 

The  following  order  was  passed  by  the  City  Council,  and 
approved  by  the  Mayor,  on  the  7th  of  May :  — 

Ordered,  That  His  Honor  the  Mayor,  the  Chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Aldermen,  the  President  of  the  Common  Council,  with  Aldermen 
Harris,  Stebbins,  Quincy  and  Power,  and  Councilmen  Sibley,  Samp- 
son, Clarke,  Peabody,  Flynn,  Guild  and  Devereux,  be  authorized  to 
make  suitable  arrangements,  on  the  part  of  the  City  of  Boston,  for  the 
Celebration  of  the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker 
Hill ;  and  that  said  committee  be  authorized  to  expend  for  that 
purpose  the  income  of  the  Foss  fund,  and  of  the  Babcock  fund,  and, 
in  addition  thereto,  a  sum  not  exceeding  thirty  thousand  dollars,*  to 
be  charged  to  the  appropriation  for  Incidentals. 

The  Mayor,  having  been  empowered  by  the  committee  to 
select  a  suitable  person  to  act  as  Chief  Marshal  of  the  proces- 
sion which  it  was  proposed  to  organize  on  the  day  of  the 
celebration,  appointed  General  FRANCIS  A.  OSBORN,  with  full 
authority  to  make  such  arrangements,  in  matters  pertaining 
to  the  duties  of  the  office,  as  he  might  deem  necessary. 

The  part  to  be  taken  by  the  city  in  the  observance  of  the 
anniversary  was  further  defined  as  follows :  It  was  decided 
to  have  an  official  reception  in  Music  Hall  on  the  evening  of 
the  16th  of  June;  to  decorate  all  the  public  buildings,  and 
designate,  by  suitable  inscriptions,  the  places  of  historical 
interest  in  the  city ;  to  have  the  bells  of  the  churches  rung, 
and  national  salutes  fired  at  sunrise,  noon  and  sunset,  on  the 
17th;  to  provide  a  tent  and  such  other  accommodations  as 
may  be  •  necessary  for  the  exercises  at  Bunker  Hill ;  to  make 
a  display  of  fireworks  on  Boston  Common  and  on  Sullivan 
square,  in  Charlestown;  to  illuminate  the  dome  of  the  City 
Hall,  in  School  street,  and  the  front  and  dome  of  the  old  City 
Hall,  in  Charlestown ;  to  exhibit  calcium  lights  from  the  top  of 

*  On  the  5th  of  June  this  sum  was  increased  to  $35,000.  The  amount  actually 
expended  was  $33,444.46. 


14  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF    THE 

the  Bunker  Hill  Monument,  and  from  other  prominent  points 
in  the  city  proper,  and  in  East  Boston,  South  Boston  and 
Roxbury ;  and  to  have  bonfires  in  Dorchester,  West  Roxbury 
and  Brighton. 

By  request  of  the  committee,  the  Mayor  extended  a  cordial 
invitation  to  the  following-named  officials  to  accept  the  hospi- 
talities of  the  city  :  — 

The  Mayor  of  Mobile,  Ala.;  Little  Rock,  Ark.;  San 
Francisco,  Cal. ;  New  Haven,  Conn. ;  Wilmington,  Del. ; 
Jacksonville,  Fla.  ;  Savannah,  Ga. ;  Chicago,  111. ;  Indian- 
*apolis,  Ind. ;  Davenport,  Iowa;  Leavenworth,  Kansas;  Louis- 
ville, Ky. ;  New  Orleans,  La. ;  Portland,  Me. ;  Baltimore, 
Md. ;  Detroit,  Mich.;  St.  Paul,  Minn.;  Vicksburg,  Miss.; 
St.  Louis,  Mo.  ;  Omaha,  Neb. ;  Virginia,  Nevada ;  Manchester, 
N.  H.  ;  Newark,  N.  J. ;  New  York,  N.  Y. ;  Wilmington, 
N.  C.  ;  Cincinnati,  Ohio ;  Portland,  Oregon ;  Philadelphia, 
Pa.  ;  Providence,  R.  I. ;  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  Memphis,  Term. ; 
Galveston,  Texas ;  Burlington,  Vt. ;  Richmond,  Va. ;  Wheel- 
ing, W.  Va. ;  Milwaukee,  Wis. ;  General  Joseph  R.  Hawley, 
President  U.  S.  Centennial  Commission ;  Alfred  T.  Goshorn, 
Esquire,  Director  General  U.  S.  Centennial  Commission ; 
Honorable  John  Welch,  President  of  the  Board  of  Finance, 
U.  S.  Centennial  Commission ;  Frederick  Fraley,  Esquire, 
Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Finance,  U.  S.  Cen- 
tennial Commission ;  Honorable  William  Bigler,  Financial 
Agent  U.  S.  Centennial  Commission ;  Honorable  Daniel  J. 
Morrell,  Chairman  Executive  Committee  U.  S.  Centennial 
Commission. 

The  following  persons  were  invited  to  meet  the  Mayor  at  the 
City  Hall,  at  9  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  17th,  for  the 
purpose  of  uniting  with  the  City  Government  in  the  exer- 
cises of  the  day  :  — 

The  Mayors  of  cities  in  Massachusetts ;  the  past  Mayors  of 


BATTLE    OF   BUXKER   HILL.  15 

Boston,  Roxbury  and  Charlestown ;  Hon.  E.  R.  Hoar,  Mr. 
Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  and  Mr.  George  Heywood,  committee 
of  the  town  of  Concord ;  Mr.  Charles  Hudson,  Mr.  M.  H. 
Merriam,  and  Mr.  W.  H.  Munroe,  committee  of  the  town  of  Lex- 
ington ;  Prof.  Charles  W.  Eliot,  President  of  Harvard  College  ; 
Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Mr.  Henry  W.  Longfellow,  Mr. 
James  Russell  Lowell,  Dr.  O.  W.  Holmes,  Mr.  William  Gray, 
Mr.  Wendell  Phillips,  Mr.  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  and  others. 

Under  an  order  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  passed  the 
13th  of  March,  a  joint  special  committee  of  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature  was  appointed,  "with  full  power  to  make  such 
arrangements  as  might  be  deemed  proper  and  expedient  for  the 
reception,  on  the  part  of  the  State,  .of  the  President  and 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  and  other  distinguished 
strangers  who  might  visit  the  State  upon  the  occasion  of  the 
celebration  of  the  17th  of  June." 

The  committee  subsequently  invited  the  following  persons  to 
become  the  guests  of  the  State  :  The  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States ;  the  President  pro  tempore  of 
the  United  States  Senate ;  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  ;  the  members  of  the  President's 
Cabinet;  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  of  the 
United  States  ;  General  William  T.  Sherman ;  Lieutenant  Gen- 
eral Philip  H.  Sheridan ;  Major  General  Winfield  S.  Hancock ; 
Admiral  David  D.  Porter ;  Vice- Admiral  Stephen  C.  Rowan ; 
the  Governors  of  all  the  States ;  the  Chiefs  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps ;  the  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress  from 
Maine  ;  Andrew  Johnson,  Ex-President  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  John  A.  Dix,  of  New  York. 

On  the  14th  of  June  His  Excellency,  the  Governor  and 
Commander-in-Chief,  tendered  the  First  Division  of  Massachu- 
setts Volunteer  Militia  to  the  City  of  Boston,  for  the  purpose 
of  escort  duty  at  the  Centennial  Anniversary,  and  stated,  at  the 


16  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

same  time,  that  the  troops  would  pass  in  review  at  the  State 
House,  while  en  route  to  the  head  of  the  civic  procession. 

In  response  to  a  request  from  the  Mayor,  Major  General  W. 
S.  Hancock,  commanding  the  Military  Division  of  the  Atlantic, 
directed  Major  George  P.  Andrews,  of  the  Fifth  U.  S.  Artillery, 
to  detail  two  companies  from  the  troops  in  Boston  Harbor, 
under  the  command  of  Brevet  Major  General  Richard  Arnold, 
to  report  for  duty,  in  connection  with  the  procession. 

In  a  circular*  issued  just  previous  to  the  17th,  the  Chief 
Marshal  made  the  following  announcement  in  regard  to  the 
formation  and  management  of  the  procession,  and  the  route 
over  which  it  would  pass  :  — 

The  First  Division  Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia  has  been 
ordered  by  the  Major  General  commanding  to  form  upon  the  Parade 
Ground  of  the  Common  at  8.40,  A.  M.  Before  reporting  for  duty  as 
escort  of  the  procession,  the  division  is  to  march  in  review  before 
the  Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief,  who  is  to  take  post  for  the 
purpose  in  front  of  the  State  House.  The  column  of  troops  is  to 
move  from  the  Parade  Ground  through  Boylston-street  mall,  Tre- 
mont,  Beacon,  and  Dartmouth  streets.  It  is  to  halt  in  Dartmouth 
street,  the  right  resting  at  Columbus  avenue,  and  is  to  close  in  mass, 
thus  assuming  position  to  take  up  the  procession. 

The  procession,  except  the  First  Division,  will  form  at  10  o'clock 
in  the  several  positions  named  below. 

The  First  Division  will  form  at  9  o'clock  in  Charles  street,  the  right 
resting  at  Boylston  street,  the  left  prolonged  toward  Beacon  street, 
and  up  Beacon-street  mall.  This  division,  in  conformity  with  the 
wish  of  its  constituent  bodies  and  of  the  State  authorities,  will  join 
in  the  march  in  review,  and  will  follow  the  division  of  Massachusetts 
Militia.  When  that  division  shall  close  in  mass  and  halt,  the  First 
Division  will  close  upon  it  and  execute  the  same  movement. 

*  The  circular  gave  the  organization  of  the  several  divisions ;  but  that  portion  is 
omitted  here,  as  it  is  given  more  in  detail  in  the  account  of  the  procession. 


BATTLE    OP   BITNTCER   HILL.  17 

The  official  personages  composing  the  Second  Division  will  witness 
the  review  at  the  State  House.  The  several  escorts  to  Governors 
of  States  will  be  posted  as  follows :  The  First  Troop  of  City 
Cavalry,  of  Philadelphia,  in  Ashburton  place,  right  resting  at 
Bowdoin  street.  The  First  Company  Governor's  Foot  Guards, 
of  Hartford,  escort  of  the  Governor  of  Connecticut,  the  Portland 
Cadets,  escort  of  the  Governor  of  Maine,  and  the  Governor  Straw 
Rifles,  escort  of  the  Governor  of  New  Hampshire,  in  the  Park- 
street  mall,  right  resting  at  Beacon  street.  The  National  Lancers, 
escort  of  the  State  Government,  in  Derne  street,  right  resting  at  Bow- 
doin street.  Immediately  after  the  review,  the  chief  of  this  division 
will  exert  himself  to  form  it  as  speedily  as  possible.  The  City  Gov- 
ernment and  their  guests  will  leave  the  State  House  by  the  door  on 
Mount  Vernon  street,  will  take  their  carriages  and  drive  rapidly  to 
Charles  street,  where  they  will  form,  the  right  resting  at  Beacon 
street,  the  left  prolonged  toward  Cambridge  street.  The  State  Gov- 
ernment and  their  guests  will  leave  the  State  House  by  the  Beacon- 
street  side,  will  take  their  carriages,  and,  preceded  by  the  Lancers, 
will  drive  down  Beacon  street,  and  form  with  the  right  resting  at 
Charles  street,  in  position  to  follow  the  City  Government.  The 
escorts  will  be  moved  up  in  season  to  take  up  their  respective 
Governors  in  their  proper  places. 

The  Third  Division  will  form  on  Beacon  street,  the  right  resting  at 
Dartmouth  street,  the  left  prolonged  toward  Parker  street. 

The  Fourth  Division  will  form  on  Marlboro'  street,  the  right  rest- 
ing at  Dartmouth  street,  the  left  prolonged  toward  Arlington  street. 

The  Fifth  Division  will  form  on  Marlboro'  street,  the  right  resting 
at  Dartmouth  street,  the  left  prolonged  toward  Parker  street. 

The  Sixth  Division  will  form  on  Commonwealth  avenue,  north  side, 
the  right  resting  at  Dartmouth  street,  the  left  prolonged  toward 
Arlington  street. 

The  Seventh  Division  will  form  in  two  subdivisions,  the  first  on 
Commonwealth  aveniue,  south  side,  and  the  second  on  Newbury 
street,  the  right  of  each  subdivision  resting  at  Dartmouth  street,  the 
left  prolonged  toward  Arlington  street.  The  Chief  of  this  division 
will  detail  an  Aid  to  see  that  the  second  subdivision  moves  promptly 
to  unite  with  the  first. 
3 


18  CENTENNIAL.   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

The  Eighth  Division  will  form  on  Boylston  street,  the  right  resting 
at  Dartmouth  street,  the  left  prolonged  toward  Arlington  street. 

The  Ninth  Division  will  form  on  Chandler  and  Appleton  streets, 
Warren  avenue,  Brookline,  Pembroke,  Newton,  Rutland  and  Concord 
streets,  or  as  many  of  them  as  may  be  needed,  in  the  order  named,  — 
the  right  of  the  subdivisions  in  Brookline  and  Pembroke  streets,  rest- 
ing at  "Warren  avenue  ;  the  right  of  those  in  the  other  streets  named, 
resting  at  Columbus  avenue.  All  wagons  will  enter  the  designated 
streets  at  the  rear,  and  will  be  formed  in  single  column  from  front  to 
rear,  in  the  order  of  their  reporting,  excepting  those  bearing  very 
unwield}-  loads,  and  liable  for  that  reason  to  delay  the  march,  which 
will  be  posted  at  the  rear  of  the  division.  A  line  will  first  be  formed 
in  Chandler  street,  close  by  the  northern  curbstone,  and  a  second  line 
close  by  the  southern  curbstone  ;  and  the  same  order  will  be  followed 
in  the  other  streets.  The  line  first  formed  will  move  first,  and  the 
second  will  follow  close  in  its  rear.  Teams  of  more  than  a  single 
pair  of  horses  will  be  provided  with  men  to  walk  beside  the  leaders, 
as  security  against  accident  and  delay.  Wagons  heavily  loaded  must 
be  furnished  with  brakes. 

The  head-quarters  of  the  Chief  Marshal  will  be  at  the  corner  of 
Beacon  and  Arlington  streets.  The  General  Staff  will  report  to  him 
there  at  9  o'clock,  A.M. 

Chiefs  of  Divisions  will  establish  their  head-quarters  at  the  points 
indicated  above  for  the  right  of  their  respective  divisions,  and  will 
remain,  or  be  represented  there,  until  their  divisions  shall  move. 
They  will  detail  bearers  for  the  respective  division  banners,  who 
will  be  stationed,  during  the  formation,  at  the  right  of  the  division, 
and  who  will  march  in  advance  of  the  division,  thirty  paces  in  rear  of 
the  one  preceding.  They  will  also  detail  mounted  orderlies,  to  carry 
their  respective  head-quarter  flags.  Each  Chief  of  Division,  when  he 
shall  see  the  division  next  preceding  his  own  in  motion,  will  close  his 
division  in  mass,  and  be  prepared  to  march  promptly,  at  an  interval 
of  thirty  paces  in  its  rear ;  he  will  station  an  Aid  at  the  rear  of  his 
division,  to  notify  the  Chief  of  the  succeeding  one  of  the  moment  to 
move.  Each  Chief  of  Division  will  labor  during  the  march  to  main- 
tain his  division  at  the  prescribed  interval ;  and,  if  he  shall  find  that 


BATTLE   OF  BUNKER  HILL.  19 

it  is  losing  distance,  or  becoming  unduly  extended,  he  will  at  once 
communicate  the  fact  to  the  Chief  Marshal. 

Divisions,  in  taking  up  the  line  of  march,  will  take  distance  by  the 
head  of  column. 

Aids  detailed  by  the  Chief  Marshal  will  attend  at  the  several  railroad 
stations  for  the  purpose  of  giving  all  necessary  information  to  organi- 
zations arriving.  They  will  reach  the  stations  at  9,  A.M.,  and  remain 
until  11,  A.M.  Organizations  are  requested  to  follow  the  route  from 
the  railroad  station  which  may  be  indicated  by  such  Aids. 

As-  each  organization  arrives  on  the  ground  prescribed  for  its 
division,  its  Chief  will  report  at  once  to  the  Chief  of  Division  the  total 
number  of  its  members  present,  of  its  band,  and  of  its  carriages,  and 
it  will  be  assigned  a  place  in  column. 

All  but  military  bodies  will  form  and  march  in  single  ranks  of  six 
files  each.  Carriages  will  form  two  abreast,  and  maintain  that  order 
during  the  march. 

The  formation  of  the  procession  cannot  be  completed  until  after  the 
conclusion  of  the  military  review.  After  the  troops,  and  the  official 
personages  who  will  be  present  at  the  review,  shall  have  taken  their 
respective  positions,  the  head  of  the  column  will  take  up  the  line  of 
march,  at  an  hour  not  earlier  than  llg-  o'clock,  from  the  corner  of 
Dartmouth  street  and  Columbus  avenue,  and  will  move  through  the 
following-named  streets :  — 


Columbus  avenue,  West  Chester  park,  Chester  square,  southwest 
side,  Washington  and  Union  Park  streets,  Union  park,  southwest 
side,  Tremont,  Boylston,  Washington,  Milk,  India,  Commercial  and 
South  Market  streets,  Merchants'  row,  State,  Devonshire,  Washing- 
ton and  Charlestown  streets,  Charles-river  bridge,  Charles-river 
avenue,  City  square,  Chelsea,  Chestnut,  southeast  and  northeast  sides 
of  Monument  square,  Concord,  Bunker  Hill  and  Main  streets,  Monu- 
ment avenue,  southwest  side  of  Monument  square  and  Winthrop 
street  to  Winthrop  square,  where  the  procession  will  be  dismissed. 

While  crossing  all  bridges,  bands  and  drums  will  cease  playing  and 
marching  bodies  will  break  step.  Chiefs  of  Division  will  impress 
upon  their  commands  the  importance  of  this  order,  and  will  labor  to 


20  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

enforce  it,  leaving  an  Aid  at  the  entrance  of  each  bridge  for  the  pur- 
pose.    ' 

The  Chief  Marshal  has  secured  a  line  of  telegraph  along  the  whole 
route,  and  has  established  stations  at  the  following  places  :  — 

No.  1.  Corner  Beacon  and  Arlington  streets,  head-quarters  Chief 
Marshal. 

No.  2.    Corner  Dartmouth  street  and  Columbus  avenue. 

No.  3.   Corner  Chester  square  and  Washington  street. 

No.  4.    5th  Police  Station,  East  Dedham  street. 

No.  5.    282  Tremont  street,  corner  Common  street. 

No.  6.   No.  411  Washington  street,  at  Haley,  Mor«e  &  Co.'s  store. 

No.  7.   Milk  street,  near  Broad  street. 

No.  8.    Old  State  House. 

No.  9.  Haymarket  square,  in  or  near  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad 
depot. 

No.  10.   City  square,  Charlestown. 

No.  11.   Main,  corner  Thorndike  street. 

No.  12.   Winthrop  square,  opposite  Park  street. 

Chiefs  of  Division,  on  approaching  each  station,  will  send  forward 
an  Aid,  with  the  despatch  for  the  Chief  Marshal,  giving  full  informa- 
tion of  the  condition  of  their  commands,  and  any  other  matters 
deemed  by  them  important.  They  will  instruct  their  Aids  to  receive 
any  orders  which  may  be  waiting  delivery. 

The  operators  at  these  stations  will  from  time  to  time  exhibit 
placards,  for  the  information  of  the  spectators,  announcing  the  posi- 
tion of  the  head  of  the  column. 

Any  Chief  of  Division  not  ready  to  move  promptly  in  his  order  will 
at  once  notify  the  Chief  of  the  one  next  succeeding,  to  march  in  his 
place  and  stead,  and  will  take  position  for  the  march  in  rear  of  the 
last  marching  division,  retaining  at  the  head  of  his  own  its  proper 
banner.  Should  he,  however,  be  subject  to  detention  by  the  unreadi- 
ness of  a  small  portion  of  his  command,  he  may,  at  his  discretion, 
detach  such  portion,  and  send  it,  under  charge  of  an  Aid,  to  report 
to  the  Chief  of  the  last  marching  division. 

Any  organization  reaching  the  ground  after  the  departure  of  its 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER  HILL.  21 

division  will  report  to  the  Chief  of  the  next   succeeding  one,  not 
already  in  motion. 

Chiefs  of  Division  are  requested  to  transmit  to  these  head-quarters, 
on  the  day  following  the  celebration,  consolidated  reports  of  their 
commands. 

By  order  of  GEN.    FRANCIS  A.  OSBORN, 

Chief  Marshal. 
CORNELIUS   G.   ATTWOOD,   Adjutant  General. 

In  connection  with  the  Marshal's  notice,  the  Chief  of  Police 
issued  the  following  :  — 

By  direction  of  the  BOARD  OF  ALDERMEN,  the  streets  designated 
by  the  Chief  Marshal  as  the  route  for  the  procession  on  the  17th  of 
June,  and  such  other  streets  as  the  public  safety  and  convenience 
may  require,  will  be  closed  against  the  passage  of  vehicles  at  9 
o'clock,  A.  M. 

The  streets  adjacent  to  the  Common,  and  those  on  the  Back  Bay 
Territory  on  which  the  procession  is  to  be  formed,  will  be  closed 
against  the  passage  of  vehicles  at  8  o'clock,  A.  M. 

Monument  square  and  (west)  Monument  avenue  will  be  closed 
against  the  passage  of  vehicles  at  8  o'clock,  A.  M.,  and  against  the 
passage  of  all  persons  not  authorized  to  pass  there  at  8  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  on  that  day. 

All  unnecessary  obstructions  on  the  streets  or  sidewalks  must  be 
removed,  and  it  is  highly  desirable  that  all  persons  should  aid  the 
police  in  securing  an  unobstructed  passage,  from  curb  to  curb, 
throughout  the  entire  route  of  the  procession. 

For  rates  of  hack-fares  between  Boston  proper  and  Charlestown 
passengers  are  directed  to  the  list  of  fares  posted  in  each  carriage. 

The  law  against  the  discharge  of  firearms  and  fireworks  will  be 
promptly  enforced,  and  all  citizens  are  earnestly  requested  not  to 
leave  their  dwellings  unprotected,  and  to  use  every  practical  precau- 
tion against  fire. 

EDWARD   H.    SAVAGE, 

Chief  of  Police. 

OFFICE  OF  THE  CHIEF  OF  POLICE, 
Boston,  June  14,  1875. 


THE  RECEPTION  IN  MUSIC  HALL. 


RECEPTION   IN   MUSIC  HALL. 

[Drawn  by  EDWIN  A.  ABBEY.    Engraved  by  A.  V.  S.  ANTHONY.] 


THE  RECEPTION  IN  MUSIC  HALL. 


ON  the  evening  of  the  16th  of  June  His  Honor  the  Mayor 
and  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  gave  a  reception,  in  Music 
Hall,  to  the  distinguished  visitors  who  purposed  taking  part  in 
the  celebration  on  the  following  day. 

The  hall  was  very  handsomely  decorated  with  flowers,  bunt- 
ing and  drapery.  On  the  front  of  the  upper  balcony  there  was 
anarch  bearing  the  word  "WELCOME,"  in  richly  illuminated 
letters;  and,  just  beneath,  a  representation  of  the  City  Seal, 
with  the  dates  "1775  "and  "1875,"  in  tablets  on  either  side. 
At  intervals  during  the  evening  music  was  furnished  by  the, 
Germania  Band. 

To  facilitate  the  interchange  of  civilities  between  the  city 
authorities  and  their  guests,  the  seats  in  the  body  of  the  hall 
were  removed  ;  and  to  accommodate  the  ladies,  a  portion  of  the 
seats  in  the  first  balcony  were  reserved.  Among  those  who  occu- 
pied seats  on  the  platform,  or  who  appeared  there  at  different 
times  during  the  evening,  there  were,  the  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  General  William  T.  Sherman,  Senator  Ambrose 
E.  Burnside ;  Mr.  Justice  Strong  of  the  Supreme  Court,  U.  S.  ; 
Senor  Don  Francisco  Gonzales  Errazuriz,  Charge"  d' Affaires  from 
Chili ;  Mr.  Stephen  Preston,  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  from  Hayti ;  His  Excellency  William  Gaston, 
Governor  of  Massachusetts ;  His  Excellency  Nelson  Dingley, 
Jr.,  Governor  of  Maine;  His  Excellency  John  J.  Bagley, 
Governor  of  Michigan ;  General  Fitz  Hugh  Lee,  of  Virginia ; 
Colonel  A.  O.  Andrews,  of  South  Carolina,  Captain  J.  W. 

4 


26  CENTEN:NTAL  ASTNTVERSAKY  OF  THE 

Gilmer,  of  the  Norfolk  Blues  ;  General  Judson  C.  Kilpatrick ; 
Hon.  E.  W.  Kichardson,  Mayor  of  Portland;  Hon.  R.  L. 
Fulton,  Mayor  of  Galveston,  Texas.  Among  the  organizations, 
or  representatives  of  organizations,  present  in  the  hall  there 
were,  the  Washington  Light  Infantry  of  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  the 
Norfolk  Light  Artillery  Blues,  of  Norfolk,  Va. ;  the  Fifth 
Maryland  Eegiment ;  the  Old  Guard  of  New  York ;  the  Light 
Infantry  Veteran  Association  of  Salem,  Mass. ;  the  New  Eng- 
land Society  of  New  York  ;  the  Eichmond  (Va.)  Commandery 
of  Knights  Templars  ;  the  De  Molay  Commandery  of  Boston ; 
The  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company  of  Boston,  and 
the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association. 

Soon  after   eight  o'clock  the  Mayor  called  the  assemblage 
to  order,  and  spoke  as  follows  :  — 


Fellow-  Citizens  and  Friends :  —  The  event  whose 
hundredth  anniversary  we  celebrate  to-morrow  was  one 
of  a  series  that  resulted  in  the  creation  of  an  indepen- 
dent nation.  The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  in  a  military 
view,  was  a  defeat  for  the  colonies ;  but,  in  its  moral  and 
political  fruits,  it  was  a  splendid  success.  Following 
close  upon  the  collisions  at  Lexington  and  Concord,  it 
fired  the  whole  American  heart,  and  aroused  the  entire 
American  people,  and  made  them  thenceforth  one  people. 
While  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  Massachusetts  to  lead  off  in 
the  war  of  independence,  she  was  not  left  to  stand 
alone  for  a  day.  Responses  of  sympathy  and  pledges 
of  co-operation  came  in  as  fast  as  news  could  fly  and 
men  could  march. 

"  It  is  surprising,"  writes  General  Gage  at  this  period, 
"  that  so  many  of  the  other  provinces  interest  themselves 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.'  27 

so  much  in  this.  They  have  warm  friends  in  !New  York, 
and  I  learn  that  the  people  of  Charleston,  Soutlj 
Carolina,  are  as  mad  as  they  are  here." 

"All  Virginia,"  says  Irving,  "was  in  a  state  of 
combustion." 

"  "We  must  fight !  "  said  Patrick  Henry.  "  I  repeat  it, 
sir,  we  must  fight  !  " 

In  fifteen  days  the  great  Yirginian,  Washington  him- 
self, was  here  at  the  head  of  the  army.  Then  followed 
battle  after  battle,  from  Boston  to  Charleston,  from 
Saratoga  to  Yorktown,  till  at  length  the  thirteen 
provinces  became  thirteen  States,  and  those  thirteen 
States  an  empire  that  now  spans  the  continent.  Re- 
membering these  things,  we  of  the  East  do  more  than 
willingly  accord  to  the  people  of  the  West  and  the 
South  an  equal  share  in  the  proud  and  grateful  memories 
that  belong  to  our  revolutionary  centennials  ;  and  we, 
on  our  part,  shall  claim  an  equal  share  in  theirs,  as  they 
recur  from  time  to  time,  from  '75  to  '82. 

To-morrow's  commemoration  is  no  mere  local  affair. 
It  must  have  a  national  significance,  or  it  can  have  none. 
If  it  were  only  Boston  or  Massachusetts,  or  even  New 
England,  that  cared  for  it,  better  that  the  famous  story 
of  Bunker  Hill  were  blotted  out  of  history,  as  the  mere 
record  of  an  ignominious  failure.  What  is  ours  in  these 
things  belongs  to  all  our  countrymen  as  much,  or  it 
would  be  worthless  to  us  ;  and  what  is  theirs  is  ours,  or 
we  should  feel  bereft  of  a  splendid  heritage.  It  is, 
therefore,  with  the  deepest  satisfaction  that  we,  who  are 
especially  at  home  here,  hail  the  coming  of  so  many  of 
our  fellow-citizens  from  abroad  and  afar.  Their  pres- 


28  CEN^EM^IAL    A3JNIVEKSARY   OF   THE 

ence  is  a  principal  circumstance,  and,  to  our  eyes,  the 
brightest  feature  of  the  occasion  —  a  pledge  that  they 
are  ready  to  share,  and  share  alike  with  us,  in  the  rich 
inheritance  of  the  inspiring  memories  and  traditions  of 
the  national  birthtime,  and  that  to  their  feeling,  as  to 
ours,  the  sons  of  their  fathers  and  of  our  fathers,  who 
stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  that  grand  old  time,  are, 
and  must  be,  brethren  to-day. 

Under  the  inspirations  of  such  a  reunion,  we  feel  that 
to-morrow  will  be  such  a  red-letter  day  for  Boston  as 
can  hardly  shine  for  her  more  than  once  in  a  century. 
If  the  skies  smile  upon  her  there  will  be  such  a  tide  of 
life  pulsing  through  her  streets  as  she  never  knew  before ; 
her  spires  and  domes  will  wear  such  a  radiance  as  the 
summer  sun  never  gave  them  till  now;  the  heart  of 
Bunker  Hill  will  throb  audibly  beneath  the  tread  and 
the  acclaim  of  the  gathering  multitudes;  its  granite 
shaft  will  loom  up  many  cubits  taller  into  the  sky ;  and 
the  glorified  forms  of  Prescott  and  Warren,  and  of  their 
illustrious  compeers  who  stood  with  them  on  the  spot 
that  day,  or  who  sent  them  their  sympathy,  and  were 
already  hastening  to  their  support  from  every  quarter, 
or  preparing  to  do  the  like  deeds  elsewhere,  will  almost 
be  seen  bending  from  the  clouds  and  breathing  benedic- 
tions on  their  children,  wTho,  after  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
a  century,  are  found  faithful  to  their  trust,  and  worthy 
to  hold  and  transmit  their  sacred  inheritance  of  liberty 
and  union.  Under  these  circumstances  the  City  Council, 
acting  as  they  felt,  and  sure  that  it  was  in  accord  with 
the  sentiment  of  the  whole  city,  have  desired  me  to 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  29 

invite   our  visitors   to  meet   us   here   to-night  for   an 
interchange  of  greetings  and  felicitations. 

We  knew  you  were  coming,  gentlemen ;  and  you  have 
come  as  you  promised,  and  as  we  hoped  —  in  goodly 
numbers  —  in  military,  masonic,  industrial,  commercial 
and  educational  organizations — private  citizens  and  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Nation,  of  the  States  and  of  many 
cities.  You  have  come  from  every  direction  and  all 
distances ;  from  beyond  the  Kennebec  and  the  Green 
Mountains ;  from  beyond  the  Hudson,  the  Delaware  and 
the  Susquehanna,  the  Potomac  and  the  James,  the  Edisto, 
the  Savannah  and  the  Tennessee;  from  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  You  could  not  come 
too  numerously  for  our  wishes  and  our  welcome.  Boston 
would  be  glad  if  she  could  fold  the  whole  nation  in  her 
heart  to-morrow,  and  make  herself  for  the  day,  and  in 
this  her  turn,  the  sacred  Mecca  of  the  entire  American 
people.  Without  dissent  or  reservation  she  rejoices  as 
one  man  in  your  coming ;  and  in  her  name  and  behalf  I 
bid  you  welcome  !  —  thrice  welcome  !  —  a  thousand 
times  welcome!  My  clumsy  northern  tongue  and  un- 
practised lips  cannot  give  adequate  expression  to  the 
warmth  and  cordiality  with  which  she  bids  me  greet  her 
guests  and  make  them  at  home  within  her  gates.  And, 
if  I  mistake  not,  the  crowds  in  our  streets  to-morrow  will 
re-echo  the  greeting  with  an  emphasis  that  you  cannot 
fail  to  understand.  You  will  unite  with  us,  and  that 
right  heartily,  I  doubt  not,  in  commemorating  with  rev- 
erence and  gratitude  the  men  and  the  deeds  of  a  hundred 
years  ago,  and  the  ways  in  which  an  ever  gracious  Prov- 
idence, through  many  perils  and  difficulties,  has  led  our 


30  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

country  on  and  up  to  its  present  height  of  greatness  and 
prosperity. 

And  now,  fellow-citizens,  while  we  solemnly  ring  out 
the  old  century,  let  us  hopefully  ring  in  the  new.  It 
belongs  to  the  men  of  to-day  to  inaugurate  the  second 
century  of  our  country's  life.  The  omens  are  propitious. 
The  prospects  of  our  national  polity  are  brighter  to-day, 
I  think,  than  at  any  previous  period.  It  has  safely 
undergone  all  the  tests  that  could  be  crowded  into  a 
century.  It  still  stands,  and  may  now  be  said  to  have 
almost  passed  the  experimental  stage,  —  at  least  as  far 
as  that  can  be  said  of  any  earthly  polity.  We  have 
experienced  all  the  trials  and  dangers  by  which  the 
permanence  of  nations  is  put  to  the  test.  We  have  hacl 
the  stringent  test  of  unexampled  prosperity  and  rapid  ex- 
pansion, and  have  survived  it.  We  have  had  commercial 
crises  and  industrial  depressions  of  the  severest  character. 
We  have  had  bitter  political  and  sectional  strifes.  We 
have  had  foreign  wars ;  and,  like  all  nations  that  have 
attained  to  greatness,  we  have  had  civil  war,  —  and  still 
we  live.  This  last  and  supremest  peril  has  passed  away 
just  in  time  to  enable  the  country  to  enter  upon  the 
second  century  of  its  history  with  confidence  and  good 
cheer.  We  could  not  have  said  so,  at  least  not  so 
confidently,  fifteen  years  ago,  nor  ten,  nor  even  five. 
But  now,  not  only  is  the  war  closed,  but  the  ani- 
mosities which  have  accompanied  and  followed  it  are 
fading  out;  they  are  dying,  —  nay,  they  are  as  good  as 
dead,  and  awaiting  their  burial!  To-morrow  we  will 
dig  their  grave ;  at  the  greater  centennial  in  Philadelphia, 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  31 

next  year,  we  will  heap  up  a  mound  over  them  high  as 
the  Alleghanies ;  and,  before  the  day  of  Yorktown  comes 
round,  we  shall  have  forgotten  that  they  ever  existed. 
In  this  benign  work  of  reconciliation  the  soldiers  on 
both  sides  have  taken  the  lead.  This  was  to  be  expected. 
True  heroism  harbors  no  resentments,  and  is  incapable 
of  a  sullen  and  persistent  hatred.  True  soldiers,  worthy 
of  the  name,  give  and  take  hard  blows  hi  all  honor  and 
duty;  and  when  the  work  is  done,  are  ready  to  embrace 
as  brothers  in  arms,  and  to  let  by-gones  be  by-gones,  in 
all  things  except  to*  preserve  the  memory  and  decorate 
the  graves  of  their  heroic  dead, — ay,  and  of  one  another's 
dead.  Brave  men  love  brave  men,  with  the  magnanimity 
that  knows  how  to  honor  each  other's  courage  and 
respect  each  other's  motives.  Foemen  in  war,  brothers 
in  peace; — that  is  the  history  of  chivalry  here,  as  every- 
where. And  all  classes  must  needs  follow  the  lead  of 
their  noble  champions,  and  could  not  stand  out  against 
it,  if  they  would.  Even  the  weak  and  cowardly,  and 
the  political  adventurers  who  live  on  the  garbage  of 
sectional  jealousies  and  partisan  embitterments,  have 
to  give  in,  at  last,  from  very  shame.  Indications  of 
the  spreading  and  deepening  of  this  sentiment  of  re- 
stored amity  are  coming  in  from  all  quarters.  Here  hi 
Boston,  I  do  not  happen  to  know  a  single  voice  at 
variance  with  it;  and  that  it  is  shared  by  yourselves, 
gentlemen  of  the  South,  is  evidenced  by  your  presence 
.  here  to-night.  You  may  have  desired  the  issue  of  the 
war  to  have  been  other  than  it  is,  and  may  have  felt, 
for  a  time,  that  all  was  lost  save  honor.  I  respect  your 
convictions;  but  I  believe  you  are  wise  enough,  and 


32  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY    OF   THE 

magnanimous  enough,  to  acquiesce  loyally  now,  and  in 
the  end  cheerfully,  in  the  arbitrament  of  the  God  of 
battles,  —  assured,  as  you  must  be,  that  the  overruling 
Providence  is  wiser  than  our  wishes,  and  knows  how  to 
bestow  richer  benefits  than  those  it  withholds ;  assured, 
too,  that  whatever  was  right  and  good  in  the  lost  cause 
which  you  loved  is  not  finally  lost,  and  that  whatever 
was  false  or  wrong  in  the  winning  cause  cannot 
permanently  triumph.  The  Almighty  reigns,  and 
shapes  results  more  beneficently  and  more  righteously 
than  man  can. 

All  things  considered,  fellow-citizens,  I  regard  our 
country  as  prepared  to  enter 'upon  its  second  cen- 
tury with  the  best  auguries  and  brightest  hopes  of 
peace  and  happiness.  The  burdens  and  privations 
resulting  from  the  cost  and  the  waste  of  war,  on  both 
sides,  we  must  still  bear  for  a  time,  as  we  are  bearing 
them  now,  in  this  universal  depression  of  industry  and 
trade.  But  this  evil  is,  in  its  nature,  transient  for  a 
vigorous  and  thrifty  people,  and  need  count  but  little  in 
our  reckoning  on  the  future,  provided  only  that  harmony 
and  mutual  confidence  and  good-will  prevail  and  con- 
tinue. And  these  we  must  foster  and  defend.  All 
depends  on  these.  I  am  sure  you  will  agree  with  me, 
gentlemen,  that  in  the  new  century  there  need  not  be, 
and  must  not  be,  any  North,  or  South,  or  East,  or  West, 
except  in  respect  to  those  varieties  of  climate  and 
production  which  stimulate  industry,  and  give  life  to 
commerce,  and  multiply  the  sources  of  national  wealth 
and  power.  "While  we  cultivate  friendly  relations  by  the 
intercourse  of  trade  and  the  amenities  of  social  life,  we 


BATTLE    OP   BUKKER  HILL.  33 

must  avoid  the  political  intermeddling  that  endangers 
such  relations.  Let  each  State  manage  its  own  local 
affairs  without  interference,  however  well  meant,  from 
abroad,  subject  only  to  that  Constitution  which  is  at 
once  a  wholesome  restraint  and  a  protecting  shield  for 
us  all. 

The  old  political  issues  have  well-nigh  passed  away; 
one  platform  is  very  much  like  another.  Old  party  lines 
are  getting  mixed  and  shadowy,  so  that  little  remains 
to  distinguish  them  but  their  names.  We  are  thus  at 
liberty  to  seek  the  best  men  as  rulers,  without  reference 
to  party  or  locality,  or  anything  but  character  and 
capacity,  —  honest  men,  who  will  neither  steal  nor  per- 
mit stealing.  The  securing  of  a  pure  and  upright  govern- 
ment would  be  the  best  fruit  of  our  restored  harmony,  and 
the  best  inauguration  I  know  of  for  the  new  century.  Let 
good  men,  in  all  sections,  combine  as  one  man  for  this  end. 
There  must  still  be  parties,  with  or  without  the  old 
names,  —  sharp  antagonisms  of  opinion  and  policy. 
These  are  everywhere  among  the  conditions  of  freedom 
and  progress.  They  do  not  destroy,  they  invigorate,  a 
nation.  The  only  fatal  divisions  are  those  of  sections. 
There  must  be  none  of  these,  —  at  least  in  that  part  of 
the  century  which  our  lifetime  shall  cover,  and  for  which 
we  are  answerable.  ]N~o  conflict  of  sections  !  I  give  you 
my  hand  on  that  proposition,  gentlemen,  and  I  promise 
you  every  honest  man's  hand  in  Boston  on  that.  And, 
if  you  will  accept  and  return  the  pledge,  it  shall  be 
kept;  and  we  may  trust  our  children  and  our  children's 
children  to,  maintain  and  perpetuate  it.  We  must  guard 
against  the  beginnings  of  alienation  and  distrust;  and, 


34  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

if  ever  we  see  any  root  of  bitterness  giving  signs  of 
springing  up,  let  us  set  our  heels  upon  it,  yours  and  ours, 
and  stamp  it  out  before  it  has  time  to  send  up  a  single 
poison-shoot. 

But  I  detain  you  too  long,  gentlemen.  Much  formal 
address  is  not  what  we  want  to-night.  We  want  rather 
to  look  into  one  another's  faces,  eye  to  eye.  We  want 
to  give  and  take  a  hearty  hand-grasp.  We  want  to  tell 
you,  collectively  and  individually,  that  we  shall  be  but 
too  ready  and  glad  to  do  all  in  our  power  to  make  your 
visit  agreeable  to  you,  and  to  convince  you  that  the 
confidence  in  us  which  you  show  by  coming  is  not  mis- 
placed. We  want  to  enable  you  to  report  to  your  people 
at  home  that  you  found  nothing  but  brotherhood  and 
good-fellowship  here.  We  want  to  make  the  guests  of 
a  week  the  friends  of  a  lifetime.  We  want  you  to  feel 
as  kindly  towards  Boston  as  Boston  does  towards  your 
own  fair  cities  of  the  South,  to  whom  God  grant  health 
and  wealth,  prosperity  and  peace  ! 

Once  more,  to  all  our  guests,  from  far  away  and  from 
near  by,  and  from  all  points  of  the  compass,  I  say  in  the 
city's  name,  and  say  it  gratefully  and  heartily,  Welcome 
to  Boston  and  Bunker  Hill! 

The  Mayor's  remarks  were  warmly  applauded.  After  music 
by  the  band,  he  presented  Governor  GASTON,  who  spoke  as 
follows :  — 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  35 


REMARKS    OF    GOVERNOR   G  ASTON. 

Mr.  Mayor,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  —  My  words  will 
be  few  to-night;  but  I  should  poorly  represent  Massa- 
chusetts, as  her  heart  now  beats,  if  they  were  not 
charged  with  the  warmest  spirit  of  welcome. 

Massachusetts  is  honored  by  the  presence  of  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  all  the  States  who  have  come  here 
from  every  part  of  this  broad  land  to  honor  the  memory 
of  the  soldiers  and  the  statesmen  who  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  a  republic  which  now  numbers  forty  millions 
of  people. 

The  early  battles  of  the  Kevolution  were  fought  on 
Massachusetts  soil,  but  they  were  not  fought  for  Mas- 
sachusetts alone.  They  were  fought  for  the  entire 
country,  and  the  glory  of  these  struggles  is  the  com- 
mon heritage  of  us  all.  As,  with  emotions  of  reverent 
patriotism,  you  shall  assemble  around  yonder  shaft 
to-morrow,  you  will  find  its  foundations  deep  enough  and 
its  proportions  large  enough  to  make  it  a  fit  monument 
of  the  nation's  glory. 

As  heirs  of  a  common  inheritance  we  meet  and  re- 
joice together  to-night,  and  as  brethren  we  will  celebrate 
to-morrow.  Massachusetts  of  1875  is  the  Massachusetts 
of  1775.  To  our  guests  from  the  North  and  from  the 
South,  from  the  East  and  from  the  West,  we  say,  "  As 
our  fathers  greeted  your  fathers  of  old,  so  we  now  greet 
you." 

Under  the  ample  folds  of  the  old  flag  we  meet  as 
brethren;  and  as  we  are  stepping  upon  the  threshold  of 
our  second  century,  let  us  determine  that  we  will  make 


36  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OP    THE 

its  achievements  in  all  the  fields  of  civilization  and  peace 
worthy  of  a  people  whose  birthright  is  freedom,  whose 
policy  is  justice,  and  "  whose  God  is  the  Lord." 

Under  the  influence  of  our  glorious  old  memories,  in 
the  midst  of  the  scenes  where  American  liberty  in  its 
infancy  was  rocked,  let  us  declare  there  shall  be  no 
more  sectional  strife.  Let  us  declare  there  shall  be  no 
warfare,  except  such  as  a  nation's  safety  and  a  nation's 
honor  shall  demand,  and  in  that  warfare  let  us  all  fight 
together,  sympathizing  with  each  other  in  every  danger, 
and  exulting  together  in  every  victory. 

At  the  close  of  the  Governor's  speech,  Major  Dexter  H.  Fol- 
lett  and  staff,  of  the  First  Battalion  of  Light  Artillery,  M.  V.  M. , 
entered  the  hall  with  General  Fitz  Hugh  Lee  and  the  officers  of 
the  Norfolk  Light  Artillery  Blues.  They  were  received  with 
immense  applause,  and  escorted  to  seats  on  the  platform. 

The  Mayor  then  said  he  had  been  informed  that  Colonel 
ANDREWS,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  was  in  the  hall. 
The  announcement  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm,  and 
when  the  Colonel  came  forward  he  was  heartily  cheered. 

REMARKS    OF    COLONEL    A.    O.    ANDREWS. 

Fellow-Citizens  of  Massachusetts:  —  South  Carolina 
receives  with  the  deepest  emotion  the  greetings  of 
Massachusetts, — an  emotion  w^hose  tenderness,  whose  in- 
tensity, whose  amplitude,  can  only  be  measured  as  when 
twin  sister  meets  twin  sister,  and  the  fiery  tribulations, 
the  estranging  vicissitudes  of  the  past,  are  put  aside,  all 
lost  sight  of,  all  forgotten,  in  the  happy  auguries  of  an 
unclouded  and  an  undivided  future. 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKEB   HILL.  37 

How  opportune  is  the  happening  of  these  centennials ! 
Verily  there  is  a  Providence  that  shapes  our  ends. 
Long,  and  rugged,  and  dark,  may  be  the  road,  but  in 
the  fulness  of  His  own  good  time  He  causeth  light  to 
shine,  and  in  ways  unthought  by  human  ken  brings 
about  results  that  fill  us  with  admiring  wonder  and  sur- 
prise. Who  can  fail  to  be  impressed,  that,  just  at  this 
especial  juncture,  we  should  be  catching  sight  of,  and 
coming  up  to,  these  hundred-mile  stones  in  the  journey 
of  our  common  country,  —  at  the  very  moment  in  our 
history  when  their  sight  and  presence  seem  so  season- 
able, so  fortunate,  so  auspicious,  so  needed  to  admonish 
and  to  instruct,  as  well  as  to  cheer  and  stimulate?  First 
came  Lexington  and  Concord.  Old  Mecklenburg  fol- 
lowed, and  in  the  echoes  which  yet  linger  around  us  we 
hear  the  music  sounding  again  with  all  its  primal  fervid- 
ness  and  fire,  struck  from  that  old  chord,  as  it  first  broke 
forth  in  notes  of  quickening  fraternity,  answering  to 

' '  Where  once  the  embattled  farmers  stood 
And  fired  the  shot  heard  round  the  world." 

To-day  we  gather  in  pious  homage  around  our  own 
consecrated  shrine,  and  join  with  you  in  doing  reverence 
where  Warren's  blood  was  shed,  and  renew  with  you, 
in  family  pledge,  the  sacramental  oath,  that  it  shall  not 
have  been  shed  in  vain. 

Whose  heart  shall  not  be  lifted  into  a  purer  and  a 
sweeter  atmosphere,  as  he  hears  the  tread,  and  feels  the 
approach,  of  this  grand  procession  of  the  mighty  past? 
No  dim  and  shadowy  remembrance  enclouds  them;  but 
they  come,  all  corruscated  with  light.  Like  towering 


38  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF    THE 

cliffs,  sublimely  they  lift  their  hoary  heads.  Shooting 
out  amid  the  rapid  current  upon  which  we  are  surging, 
they  turn  our  course.  In  reverential  arrest,  we  pause 
and  ponder.  On  their  scarred  fronts  we  read,  furrowed 
in  blood,  "  truths  that  wake,  to  perish  never."  In  our 
inmost  soul,  we  feel  how  full  of  blessing  is  their  pres- 
ence ;  how  teemingly  fruitful,  if  we  but  will  it  so,  for  a 
mightier,  a  far  exceeding,  a  more  glorious  and  benefi- 
cently harmonious  future!  How  fraternizing,  how 
hallowing  is  their  influence ! 

"  Oh,  hushed  be  every  thought  that  springs 
From  out  the  bitterness  of  things." 

Lowly  we  bend,  and  ask  a  blessing  and  a  benison,  ere 
yet  we  hurry  on  in  the  voyage  before  us. 

It  is  in  such  a  spirit  we  meet  you  to-day.  Like  the 
worn  and  jostled  members  of  some  large  family  at 
Christmas-tide,  who  have  almost  unlearned  the  season 
as  one  of  merriment,  a  note  of  welcome  comes  for  us  from 
the  old  loved  homestead.  How  the  old  tie  tugs  at  our 
heart !  Our  ears  catch  the  gleeful  chimes.  Soon  bursts 
out  the  once  familiar  carol,  — 

"  Behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy." 

Is  this  for  us?  Can  we  be  included?  The  dear  old 
chant  rings  out  again  —  and  all  our  misgivings  melt 
away  as  in  jubilant  strain  is  wafted  to  heaven,  "  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good- will  to 
men."  Yes,  we  come!  True,  in  our  hands  we  bring  no 
precious  vase,  in  whose  rich  loam  flowers  the  costly  ex- 
otic. We  come  in  homely  garb,  and  with  broken  cup ; 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  39 

but  in  that  cup  is  a  soil  which  yonder  column  will  rec- 
ognize—  it  is  from  old  Moultrie's  sand-bank.  You 
shall  plant  therein  the  olive-branch.  Old  Bunker  Hill 
will  catch  the  gracious  dews  as  they  fall  from  heaven, 
and  gently  drop  them  to  nourish  its  growth,  and  under 
its  stately  shaft  it  shall  find  shelter  from  the  scorching 
sun. 

Yes,  this  is  the  temper  in  which  we  meet  you  to-day 
—  even  as  in  olden  Christmas-tide  —  and  we  will  closely 
gather  around  your  honored  Yule  log,  and,  as  its  fragrant 
smoke  curls  up,  tell  o'er  with  you,  in  garrulous  gossip, 
of  the  grand  old  days  a  hundred  years  ago,  when  in 
bloody  sweat  and  travail  of  soul  were  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  this  goodly  heritage,  —  alike  for  us  and  for  you, 
for  South  as  for  North,  for  West  as  for  East,  —  from 
whose  lofty  towers  shall  be  forever  flung  its  standard  of 
love  waving  in  the  breezes  of  heaven,  and  inscribed,  so 
that  all  afar  off  may  read,  w  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that 
labor  and  are -heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
And,  oh,  see,  from  our  sculptured  urns,  with  what 
pleased  yet  anxious  serenity  look  down  upon  us  Warren 
and  Prescott,  and  Quincy  and  Hancock,  and  Otis  and 
Adams,  and,  interlocking  their  arms,  Gadsden  and 
Moultrie,  and  Marion  and  Rutledge  and  Sumter !  And 
there  comes  William  Washington !  How  his  face  glows 
with  its  old  fire,  as  he  catches  sight  of,  and  points  How- 
ard and  Morgan  to  his  cherished  oriflamme, — 

"  Which  at  Eutaw  shone  so  bright, 
And  as  a  dazzling  meteor  swept 
Through  the  Cowpens1  deadly  fight." 


40  CENTENlSnAL    ASTNTVERSARY   OP   THE 

Old  Bunker  Hill  grasps  it  in  his  arms,  and  by  the  mem- 
ory of  their  ancient  love,  by  the  recollection  of  their 
blood-wrought  struggles,  by  the  tender  recall  of  the 
triumphing  cheer  which  is  so  often  wafted  from  the 
swamps  and  fastnesses  of  the  South,  he  kisses  it  with 
fervor  true  as  ancient  knight,  and,  in  clarion  tones,  rings 
out  his  tribute  to  the  inspiring  guerdon  of  "  a  woman 
withal  —  but  a  woman  whom  Brutus  took  to  wife,  and 
daughter  to  Cato ! " 

And  now,  my  friends,  when  this  hallowed  jubilation 
is  o'er,  and  we  go  back  to  our  homes,  what  message 
shall  we  carry  to  our  reverenced  old  mother?  Never 
were  her  sons  prouder  of  her.  ISTever  clung  they 
with  more  filial  closeness  to  her  than  now  in  the  day 
of  her  adversity.  Corruption  has  harried  her  —  mis- 
rule has  revelled  over  her;  but  there  she  stands, 
patient  and  undaunted,  in  all  her  matronly  purity;  never 
more  worthy  of  our  love  than  as,  unruffled  amid  her 
assailants,  she  gathers  up  the  courtly  folds  of  her  robe 
in  majestic  self-rectitude,  her  stately  eye  beaming  with 
the  fires  of  an  unstained  birthright,  and  casting  to  the 
dust,  by  its  transfigured  light,  the  approaches  of  insult 
and  dishonor.  To  her  ear  the  national  harp  has  oft 
been  made  to  sound  "  like  sweet  bells  jangled  out  of 
tune  and  harsh."  But  there  is  a  chord  in  that  harp,  a 
golden  chord,  which  still  vibrates  in  her  heart,  "  musical 
as  Apollo's  lute,"  charming  as  the  harp  of  Orpheus. 
It  is  the  chord  of  these  ancient  memories ;  it  is  the  string 
in  that  harp,  which  runs  from  Moultrie  to  Bunker  Hill. 
It  is  the  key  which,  struck  at  Concord  and  Lexington, 
vibrates  to  Eutaw  and  King's  Mountain.  Shall  we  tell 


BATTLE    OF   BUKKER   HILL.  41 

her  that  you  have  struck  that  chord,  and  that  you  have 
struck  it  with  the  note,  and  the  music,  and  the  trueness 
of  its  ancient  song?  If  so,  then  indeed  shall  this  day's 
celebration  cause  Bunker  Hill  to  be  treasured  up  as  the 
shadow  of  a  great  rock,  bringing  rest,  and  refreshment, 
and  hope,  to  pilgrims  worn,  and  heavy,  and  weary. 
Then  shall  we 

' '  Press  heavily  onward ;  not  in  vain 

Your  generous  trust  in  human  kind ; 
The  good  which  bloodshed  could  not  gain 
Your  peaceful  zeal  shall  find." 

General  FITZ  HUGH  LEE,  of  Virginia,  was  then  presented 
and  greeted  with  enthusiastic  cheers  by  the  men,  and  the 
waving  of  handkerchiefs  by  the  ladies.  When  the  excitement 
had  somewhat  subsided,  he  spoke  as  follows  :  — 


REMARKS    OF    GENERAL    FITZ   HUGH   LEE. 

Mr.  Mayor  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  —  I  thank 
you  for  this  most  cordial  welcome  you  have  ex- 
tended to  my  comrades  and  myself.  I  came  here 
with  the  Norfolk  Light  Artillery  Blues,  a  Confederate 
organization,  whose  guns  have  roared  upon  many  a 
hard-fought  field.  As  we  arrived  before  your  city  this 
afternoon,  and  were  steaming  up  your  beautiful  harbor, 
the  first  notes  that  reached  me  from  the  band  of  music 
sent  to  meet  us  were  of  that  good  old  tune  called 
"Auld  Lang  Syne;"  and  I  felt  I  was  not  going  to 
Boston,  but  that  I  was  returning  again  to  a  common 
country  and  a  common  heritage.  I  should  have  wished 
that  my  poor  presence  would  have  passed  unnoticed, 


42  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

and  that  I  might  have  been  permitted  to  have  remained 
a  silent  visitor  in  Boston. 

When  I  remember  that  this  is  the  first  time  I  have 
ever  stepped  on  the  soil  of  Massachusetts,  I  necessarily 
feel  some  embarrassment  at  addressing  such  a  splendid 
audience  as  is  before  me ;  but  when  I  reflect  that  I  am 
an  American  citizen  —  that  I,  too,  am  a  descendant  of 
those  men  who  fought  on  Bunker  Hill  —  I  feel  that  I, 
too,  have  a  right  to  be  here  to  celebrate  their  splendid 
deeds. 

We  come  here,  fellow-citizens,  to  show  that  we  ap- 
preciate the  achievements  of  those  patriotic  forefathers 
of  ours,  —  those  men  who  planted  the  seeds  from  which 
our  nation  sprung.  We  are  here  to  show  by  our 
actual  presence  that  we  are  fully  in  sympathy  with  the 
sentiment  which  found  expression  upon  the  recent 
Decoration  Days,  when  loving  hands  entwined  beautiful 
flowers  about  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  of  both  armies 
without  distinction. 

I  recall  that,  right  here  in  Boston,  one  hundred  years 
ago,  a  patriotic  divine  spoke  in  substance  as  follows : 
"  We  pray  thee,  O  Lord,  if  our  enemies  are  desirous  to 
fight  us,  to  give  them  fighting  enough;  and  if  there  are 
more  on  their  way  across  the  sea,  we  pray  thee,  O  Lord, 
to  sink  them  to  the  bottom  of  it."  Now,  when  I  see 
this  magnificent  demonstration,  when  my  eyes  look  on 
yours,  beaming  with  friendliness  and  heartfelt  good-will 
toward  me  and  mine,  I  feel  that  hereafter,  if  foreign  or 
domestic  foes  threaten  our  common  country,  Massa- 
chusetts and  Virginia,  California  and  Florida,  would 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  43 

shout  with  one  voice,  "If  they  desire  to  fight,  let  them 
have  enough." 

I  may  be  pardoned  if  I  recall  to  your  minds  that  in 
those  days  of  darkness,  when  the  clouds  of  war  envel- 
oped your  Commonwealth,  my  State  of  Virginia  sent 
right  here  into  your  midst  him  who,  in  the  language  of 
my  grandfather,  was  "  first  in  peace,  first  in  war,  and 
first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen;"  he,  in  the 
language  of  Andrew  Jackson,  "  whose  character  cannot 
be  too  profoundly  studied  and  his  example  too  closely 
followed."  Washington  appeared  here  in  your  midst, 
brought  order  out  of  confusion,  and  saved  our  country. 
I  thank  you,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  most  cordially  for 
the  manner  in  which  you  have  received  me. 

General  JUDSON  C.  KILPATRICK  was  next  introduced,  and 
cordially  received. 

REMARKS   OF   GEN.   J.   C.   KILPATRICK. 

Fellow- Citizens:  —  I  am  proud  and  happy  to  assemble 
with  you  here  to-night  on  an  occasion  so  important,  not 
only  to  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  but  of  the  whole 
nation,  —  an  occasion  involving  elements  so  sublime, 
elements  which  inspire  feelings  of  patriotism  worthy  of 
Greece  in  her  best  days.  It  was  not  my  intention  to 
say  a  word  to-night.  I  entered  here  but  a  few 
moments  ago,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  Fitz 
Hugh  Lee,  of  Virginia,  a  Confederate  soldier,  who  was 
my  cavalry  instructor  at  West  Point,  and  whom  I  met 
on  many  a  bloody  battle-field  in  the  late  war  of  the 
rebellion.  And  I  rejoice,  fellow-citizens,  to  have  him 


44  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OP   THE 

come  here  to-night,  and  in  the  presence  of  this  magnifi-* 
cent  audience  shake  hands  once  again  with  us  beneath 
the  same  old  Union  flag,  which  is  his  banner  as  well  as 
ours.  I  recognize  the  fact  that  it  is  ten  long  years 
since  the  last  hostile  shot  was  fired  and  since  the  war- 
clouds  rolled  away. 

[At  this  point  General  SHERMAN  appeared  upon  the  platform, 
and  was  loudly  cheered.] 

It  will  not  be  becoming  in  me  to  continue  in  the 
presence  of  one  so  well  known  to  this  great  nation,  and 
whom  you  would  much  rather  hear  speak.  [Cries  of 
"  Go  on.  We'll  hear  him  next."]  I  was  about  saying 
that  ten  long  years  have  passed  and  gone  since  the  last 
hostile  shot  was  fired.  Monuments  of  stone  rear  aloft 
their  heads  to  heaven  to-day  from  almost  every  northern 
village,  telling  of  the  patriotic  deeds  of  the  brave  men 
who  fought  in  freedom's  cause.  Little  green  mounds 
scattered  all  over  the  sunny  South  are  watered  alone  by 
women's  tears,  and  women  on  bended  knees  are  pray- 
ing over  .the  ruins  of  what  were  once  palatial  homes, 
and  weeping  burning  tears  for  dear  ones  who  will  return 
no  more.  And  yet,  I  know  there  are  men  in  this 
country  who  say  "It  served  them  right;"  but  if  they 
would  follow  over  the  wasted  stretch  of  Sherman's 
march  they  would  find  that  the  beautiful  sun  shines 
there,  that  grain  may  growT,  and  that  green  grass  and 
flowers  forever  bloom  above  the  spots  where  brothers 
beneath  opposing  banners  struggled  for  the  mastery. 
Let  us  shake  hands  here  to-night  on  this  happy  centen- 
nial of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  Let  us  unite  the  North 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER  HILL.  45 

and  South,  and  resolve  that  the  same  old  flag,  henceforth 
and  forever,  before  us  or  around  us,  shall  be  the  pride  of 
our  triumph  and  the  shroud  of  our  burial. 

REMARKS   OF   GENERAL   WILLIAM   T.    SHERMAN. 
General  SHERMAN  was  then  presented.     He  said  :  — 

I  came  here  to-night  to  attend  a  levee  of  the  Mayor  of 
the  city  of  Boston,  with  no  intention  of  speaking  one 
word;  and  I  hope  you  will  pardon  me  if  I  merely  ex- 
press myself  somewhat  amazed  to  find  myself  upon  the 
platform  here  to-night  in  the  presence  of  so  many  gentle- 
men of  Boston,  every  one  of  whom  can  make  a  better 
speech  than  I  can.  To-morrow  you  will  hear  General 
Devens  make  a  great  speech,  worthy  the  occasion,  and 
I  want  to  hear  it  very  much, —  so  much  that  I  have  come 
fifteen  hundred  miles  to  hear  it.  I  want  also  to  stand 
where  Bunker  Hill  once  stood.  It  is  all  graded  down 
now  ;  but  the  memory  of  the  spot  will  last  long  after 
all  of  us  have  disappeared  from  this  earth.  Brave 
deeds,  noble  actions,  there'  made  the  beginning  of  our 
nation.  The  deeds  done  that  day,  the  thoughts  thought 
that  day,  the  courage  manifested  that  day,  should  make 
that  spot  as  pure  and  holy  as  any  spot  that  can  inspire  a 
race.  I  therefore  simply  ask  you,  gentlemen,  whose 
faces  are  turned  toward  me  to-night,  to  think  of  the  men 
who  died  that  day.  What  has  been  the  result?  A 
nation  was  born  that  is  influencing  the  world,  and  we  are 
come  thousands  of  miles  to  celebrate  its  birthday,  —  one 
hundred  years  ago.  May  you  all  be  better  for  it,  and 
purer  for  it,  and  truer  for  it,  and  kinder  to  each  other. 


46  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF    THE 


REMARKS   OF    GENERAL    A.    E.   BURNSIDE. 

General  BURNSIDE  was  next  introduced  by  the  Mayor.  He 
said :  — 

I  came  here  to-night  as  a  spectator,  and  I  am  not  in 
the  least  prepared  to  address  such  an  audience  as  this. 
I  am  a  clumsy  speaker  at  best,*and  it  is  not  proper  that 
I  should  attempt,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  to  say 
anything  to  an  assemblage  like  this.  The  occasion  is 
one  of  great  importance,  and  every  patriotic  heart  in 
the  country  should  be  impressed  with  it.  It  is  my  hope 
and  prayer  that  these  centennial  days  may  be  so  ob- 
served as  to  blot  out  all  feelings  of  envy  or  malice 
which  were  engendered  by  the  late  war.  I  am  free  to 
say  here  to-night  that  I  am  ready  to  do  everything  on  the 
face  of  the  earth  to  accomplish  this ;  I  will  do  anything 
but  acknowledge  we  were  wrong  in  what  we  did  to 
suppress  the  rebellion. 

REMARKS    OF   VICE-PRESIDENT   WILSON. 

At  the  close  of  General  Bumside's  address  there  were  calls 
for  the  Honorable  HENRY  WILSON,  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States.  Yielding  reluctantly  to  the  demand  made  upon  him,  Mr. 
WILSON  said :  — 

I  respond  to  your  call  only  for  a  moment,  and  I  re- 
spond for  the  reason  that  I  cannot  say  no.  We  have 
listened  to-night,  while  we  have  been  welcomed  by  the 
Mayor  of  the  city  of  Boston,  who  has  spoken  the  words 
of  the  whole  city.  This  vast  audience  has  been  wel- 
comed here  to-night  —  men  from  all  sections  of  our 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  47 

country  —  by  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  I  believe  he  has  spoken  the  words  of  all  the 
people  of  this  good  old  Commonwealth.  We  have 
heard  a  response  from  South  Carolina,  and  we  have 
welcomed  it.  We  have  heard  a  voice  from  Old  Vir- 
ginia, and  we  have  welcomed  and  applauded  it.  Here, 
to-night,  as  a  citizen  of  this  Commonwealth?  I  welcome 
these  men,  from  all  sections  of  the  country,  to  Massa- 
chusetts; and  I  trust,  with  God's  blessing,  this  oc- 
casion will  be  consecrated  to  patriotism,  to  manhood, 
to  full  and  impartial  liberty  to  all  men  of  every  kindred 
and  race. 

I  trust  that  we  shall  begin  the  coming  century  of  our 
country  with  an  acceptance  of  the  sublime  doctrine  of 
human  right  that  one  hundred  years  ago  animated  the 
men  who  bared  their  breasts  on  Bunker  Hill.  I  believe 
I  have  seen  already  in  the  South,  in  the  West,  in  the 
central  States,  that  this  anniversary  festival  of  ours,  call- 
ing us  back  to  our  early  history  and  the  grand  achieve- 
ments of  our  fathers,  is  accomplishing  more  for  our 
country  than  anything  that  is  happening.  It  is  bringing 
and  cementing  together  the  hearts  of  our  people,  and 
Christian  men  on  bended  knees  should  pray  for  it,  patri- 
otic men  should  labor  for  it,  and  we  should  know  that  we 
live  in  a  country  that  is  to  be  our  country;  that  we  live  in 
a  country  where  men  of  all  races  are  brothers.  I  believe, 
gentlemen,  that  we  should  all  strive  for  harmony,  unity, 
justice,  for  equal  rights  to  everybody  in  our  land. 

This  closed  the  formal  part  of  the  exercises,  and  introduc- 
tions and  conversation  followed. 


THE   PROCESSION. 


TRIUMPHAL  ARCH.      ENTRANCE  TO  CITY  HALL   SQUARE,  CHARLESTOWN. 

[Drawn  by  EDWIN  A.  ABBEY.     Engraved  by  W.  J.  LINTON.] 


THE    PEOCESSION. 


THE  General  Court  having  made  the  Seventeenth  of  June, 
1875,  a  legal  public  holiday,  the  public  buildings  and  offices 
throughout  the  State  were  closed,  and  all  business,  except  that 
connected  with  the  celebration,  was  suspended.  At  an  early 
hour  in  the  morning  the  various  organizations  which  were  to 
take  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  day  began  to  arrive  in  the 
city  and  take  position  in  the  places  assigned  to  them.  The 
streets  were  thronged  by  people  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
who  were  desirous  of  witnessing  what  promised  to  be  the  most 
extensive  and  magnificent  military  and  civic  display  ever  made 
in  New  England. 

The  favorable  state  of  the  weather  added  greatly  to  the 
success  of  the  occasion  ;  a  mild  east  wind  prevailed  throughout 
the  day,  and  tempered  the  heat  so  that  those  who  marched  in 
the  procession,  and  those  who  stood  long  hours  in  the  streets  to 
see  it  pass,  were  enabled  to  do  so  without  discomfort. 

All  the  public  buildings  and  many  private  dwellings  and 
places  of  business,  especially  those  along  the  route  of  the  pro- 
cession, were  handsomely  decorated  with  flags,  bunting  and 
flowers.  At  all  points  of  historic  interest  connected  with  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  or  with  the  revolutionary  period,  inscrip- 
tions were  placed,  giving  a  clear  and  concise  statement  of  the 
event  to  be  commemorated. 

Across  the  northerly  end  of  Charles-river  avenue,  where  the 
procession  entered  City  square,  Charlestown,  a  triumphal  arch 
was  erected.  One  of  the  pillars  bore  a  representation  of  the 


52  CENTENmAI,   AOTSTEVEKSABY   OE   THE 

battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  with  the  date  "1775"  beneath;  on  the 
other  was  a  view  of  the  present  Monument,  and  the  date  "  1875." 
On  the  keystone  of  the  arch  was  inscribed 

"HEROES    OF   BUNKER   HILL," 

and  on  either  side  were  the  names  of  PKESCOTT,  PUTNAM, 
WARREN,  KNOWLTON,  STARK,  and  POMEROY,  —the  one  first 
mentioned  occupying  the  highest  place  of  honor. 

At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  members  of  the  City 
Government,  the  guests  of  the  city,  and  the  persons  invited 
by  His  Honor  the  Mayor  to  join  the  procession,  assembled  at  the 
City  Hall,  and  proceeded  thence,  by  invitation  of  His  Excellency 
the  Governor,  to  the  State  House,  to  witness  the  military  review. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  troops  moved  from  their  rendezvous  on 
the  Common,  passing  out  at  the  corner  of  Charles  street  and 
Boylston  street,  and  marched  through  Boylston,  Tremont  and 
Beacon  -streets,  past  the  reviewing  party,  which  occupied  a 
platform  in  front  of  the  State  House. 

The  movement  of  the  procession  was  somewhat  delayed  by 
the  review,  and  it  was  not  Until  a  quarter  past  one  o'clock  that 
the  Chief  Marshal  was  enabled  to  enter  upon  the  line  of  march. 
The  formation  was  as  follows  :  — 

The  Chief  of  Police,  with  fifteen  mounted  men. 

The  FaU  River  Brass  Band. 
The  Fourth  Battalion  of  Infantry  M.  V.  M.,  Major  Austin  C. 

Wellington  commanding. 
General  FRANCIS  A.  OSBORN,  Chief  Marshal. 
The  Members  of  his  Staff,  namely :  — 

Col.  W.  V.  Hutchings,  Chief  of  Staff. 

Col.  Cornelius  G.  Attwood,  Adjutant  General. 

Col.  Solomon  Hovey,  Jr.,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL. 


53 


Capt.  James  Thompson,  Chief  Quartermaster. 
Lieut.  Edward  B.  Richardson,  Chief  Signal  Officer. 


Mr.  James  Swords, 
Capt.  Nathan  Appleton, 
Capt.  Geo.  P.  Denny, 
Mr.  W.  A.  Tower, 
Gen.  W.  W.  Blackmar, 
Col.  W.  H.  Long, 
Col.  Chas.  H.  Hooper, 
Mr.  Jas.  Lawrence, 
Mr.  A.  G.  Hodges, 
Col.  Nathaniel  Wales, 
Mr.  Samuel  Tuckerman, 
Capt.  G.  A.  Churchill, 
Mr.  Arthur  L.  Devens, 
Capt.  W.  A.  Couthouy, 
Mr.  M.  S.  P.  Williams, 
Col.  Geo.  C.  Joslin, 
Mr.  Otis  Kimball,  Jr., 
Col.  Louis  N.  Tucker, 
Col.  John  C.  Whiton, 
Mr.  M.  A.  Aldrich, 
Mr.  J.  R.  Wolston, 
Mr.  Win.  M.  Paul, 


Mr.  M.  F.  Dickinson,  Jr., 

Mr/B.  F.  Hateh, 

Mr.  Howard  L.  Porter, 

Capt.  Geo.  'A.  Fisher, 

Mr.  Wendell  Goodwin, 

Capt.  John  Read, 

Mr.  A.  W.  Hobart, 

Major  William  P.  Shreve, 

Capt.  A.  E.  Proctor, 

Lieut.  H.  G.  O.  Colby, 

Capt.  Edward  F.  Devens, 

Mr.  H.  G.  Parker, 

Capt.  Chas.  A.  Campbell, 

Mr.  John  B.  Draper, 

Mr.  C.  G.  Pease, 

Lieut.  Augustus  N.  Sampson, 

Mr.  James  G.  Freeman, 

Mr.  E.  P.  Kennard, 

Mr.  F.  W.  Lincoln,  Jr., 

Mr.  G.  Henry  Williams, 

Capt.  John  H.  Alley. 


Signal  Corps. 

MASSACHUSETTS  VOLUNTEER  MILITIA, 

Brown's  Brigade  Band. 
The  First  Corps  of  Cadets  M.  V.  M.,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Thomas 

F.  Edmands  commanding. 
His    Excellency  WILLIAM   GASTON,    Governor    and   Commander-iu- 

Chief. 
The  Members  of  his  Staff,  namely  :  — 

Major  Gen.  James  A.  Cunningham,  Adjutant  General. 
Colf  Isaac  F.  Kingsbury,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 
Col.  Albert  A.  Haggett,  Assistant  Inspector  General. 


54:  CENTElsnSTIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

Brig.  Gen.  P.  A.  Collins,  Judge  Advocate  General. 
Col.  Charles  W.  Wilder,  Assistant  Quartermaster  General. 
Brig.  Gen.  William  J.  Dale,  Surgeon  General. 
Col.  Joshua  B.  Treadwell,  Assistant  Surgeon  General. 
Col.    Edward    Lyman,    Col.   James  A.   Eumrill,    Col.   Leverett    S. 
Tuckerman,  Col.  Edward  Gray,  Aids  to  Commander-in-Chief. 
Col.  George  H.  Campbell,  Military  Secretary. 

The  Salem  Brass  Band. 
The    Second  Corps   of  Cadets   M.  V.  M.,  Lieutenant  Colonel  A. 

Parker  Browne  commanding. 

Major  General    Benjamin   F.  Butler,  commanding  Division  Massa- 
chusetts Militia. 
The  Members  of  his  Staff,  namely  :  — 

Col.  Edgar  J.  Sherman,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 
Col.  Yorick  G.  Hurd,  Medical  Director. 
Lieut.  Col.  Edward  J.  Jones,  Assistant  Inspector  General. 
Lieut.  Col.  George  J.  Carney,  Assistant  Quartermaster. 
Major  John  W.  Kimball,  Engineer. 
Major  Roland  G.  Usher,  Aide-de-camp. 
Major  Edwin  L.  Barney,  Judge  Advocate. 

THE   SECOKD   BRIGADE  M.  V.   M.,   Brigadier   General   George   H. 

Peirson  commanding. 

The  Lynn  Brass  Band. 

The  Eighth  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Colonel  Benjamin  F.  Peach,  Jr., 

commanding. 
The  Sixth  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Colonel  Melvin  Beal  commanding. 

The  Fifth  Regiment  Band. 
The  Fifth  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Colonel  Ezra  J.  Trull  commanding. 

The  Lawrence  Brass  Band. 
The  Second  Battalion  of  Light  Artillery,  Major  George  S.  Merrill 

commanding. 

The  Dunstable  Cornet  Band. 
Company  F,  Unattached  Cavalry,  Chelmsford,  Captain  Christopher 

Roby  commanding. 

THE  FIRST  BRIGADE  M.  V.  M.,  Brigadier  General  Isaac  S.  Burrell 
commanding. 


BATTLE    OF   BTJN'KER  HELL.  55 

The  Ninth  Regiment  Band. 

The  Ninth  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Colonel  Bernard  F.  Finan   com- 
manding. 

The  First  Regiment  Band. 

The   First  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Colonel  Henry  W.  Wilson   com- 
manding. 

The  Third  Regiment  Band. 

The  Third  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Colonel  Bradford  D.  Davol  com- 
manding. 

The  National  Band,  Boston. 
The  Second  Battalion  of  Infantry,  Major  Lewis  Gaul  commanding. 

The  Woonsocket  Brass  Band. 
The  First  Battalion  of  Light  Artillery,  Captain  Charles  W.  Baxter 

commanding. 

The  Chelsea  Brass  Band. 

The  First  Battalion  of  Cavalry,  Lieutenant  Colonel  John  H.  Roberts 

commanding. 

THE  THIRD  BRIGADE  M.  V.  M.,  Brigadier  General  Robert  H. 
Chamberlain  commanding. 
The  Hartford  City  Band. 

The  Second  Regiment  of  Infantry,  Colonel  Joseph  B.  Parsons  com- 
manding. 

Richardson's  Band,  Worcester. 
The    Tenth   Regiment   of  Infantry,    Colonel    James    M.   Drennan 

commanding. 

The  Worcester  National  Band. 

The    Fifth    Battery  of   Light  Artillery,    Captain    John    G.    Rice 
commanding. 


FIRST  DIVISION. 

Major  Henry  L.  Higginson,  Chief  of  Division. 
Aids :     Captain    John    C.    Jones,    Assistant  Adjutant  General ; 
Mr.   Henry  Upham,   Mr.    Wm.  B.  Bacon,  Jr.,   Mr.  A.  C.  Tower, 
Mr.  Daniel  C.  Bacon,  Mr.  Frank  Seabury. 


56  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

This  division  was   composed  of  military  organizations  from  other 
States,  namely :  — 

The  Seventh  Regiment  Band  and  Drum  Corps,  New  York. 
The  Seventh  Regiment  National  Guard,  State  of  New  York,  Colonel 

Emmons  Clark  commanding. 

The  First  Regiment  Band,  Pennsylvania. 

The  First  Regiment  National   Guard   of  Pennsylvania,  Colonel  R. 

Dale  Benson  commanding. 
The  Second  Regiment  Band,  Pennsylvania. 

The  Second  Regiment  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Harmanius  Neff  commanding. 

Ringold's  Band,  Reading,  Pa. 
The  State   Fencibles,    Philadelphia,   Pa.,   Captain  John  W.  Ryan 

commanding. 

McClurg's  Cornet  Band,  Philadelphia. 
The  Washington  Grays,  of  Philadelphia,    Captain  Louis  D.  Baugh 

commanding. 

The  Independence  Band,  "Wilmington,  Del. 
The     Philadelphia    Gray    Invincibles,     Captain    A.    Oscar    Jones 

commanding. 

The  American  Brass  Band,  Providence,  R.  I. 
The  First  Rhode   Island  Light  Infantry  Regiment,  Colonel  R.  H.  I. 

Goddard  commanding. 

The  National  Band,  Providence,  R.  I. 

The   Meagher  Guards,  Providence,  R.  L,   Captain    Peter  McHugh 

commanding. 

Colt's  Armory  Band,  Hartford,  Conn. 
The  Hillyer  Guards,  Hartford,  Conn.,    Captain   John  T.  Sherman 

commanding. 

Repetti's  Band,  Washington,  D.  C. 
The  Washington  Light  Infant^,  Washington,  D.  C.,  Captain  William 

G.  Moore  commanding. 
The  Governor  Straw  Rifles,  Manchester,   N.    H.,  Colonel  John  J. 

Dillon  commanding. 

The    Mansfield    Guard,   Middletown,    Conn.,   Captain   R.   Graham 
commanding. 


BATTLE   OF  BUNKER  HILL.  57 

The  Marine  Band,  U.  S.  N.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

The    Fifth    Maryland    Eegiment,    Colonel    J.    Strieker    Jenkins 

commanding. 


SECOND  DIVISION. 

Colonel  Henry  R.  Sibley,  Chief  of  Division. 

Aids  :  Captain  George  R.  Kelso,  Assistant  Adjutant  General ;  Mr. 
Retire  H.  Parker,  Mr.  John  H.  Dee,  Mr.  George  T.  Childs,  Mr. 
Edwin  F.  Peirce. 

This  division  included  the  City  Government  of  Boston,  the  Guests 
of  the  City,  the  State  Government  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  Guests 
of  the  State,  in  carriages.  The  formation  was  as  follows  :  — 

Edmands'  Military  Band,  with  Drum  Corps. 

Companies  D    and  E,  Fifth  Artillery,    U.    S.   A.,    Brevet    Major 
General  Richard  Arnold,  U.  S.  A.,  commanding. 

CITY  GOVERNMENT  AND  GUESTS. 
His  Honor  Samuel  C.    Cobb,    Mayor  of  Boston  ;    and  His  Honor 

William  H.  Wickham,  Mayor  of  New  York. 

General  Fitz  John  Porter,  Commissioner  of  Public  Works,  New  York ; 
Colonel  E.  L.  Gaul,  Secretary  to  the  Mayor  of  New  York  ; 

Nelson  H.  Tappan,  the  Comptroller  of  New  York. 

Aldermen  John    T.    Clark    and    Thomas   B.   Harris ;     His   Honor 

R.  L.  Fulton,  Mayor  of  Galveston,  Texas ;  and  Colonel  Etting, 

representing  His  Honor  William  S.  Stokely,  Mayor 

of  Philadelphia. 

Aldermen  S.  B.  Stebbins  and  S.  M.  Quincy  ;  His  Honor  Peter  Jones, 
Mayor  of  Jacksonville,  Fla. ;  and  His  Honor  Joshua  L.  Simons, 

Mayor  of  Wilmington,  Del. 

Alderman  James  Power,  and  Halsey  J.  Boardman,  Esq.,  President  of 

the  Common  Council ;  His  Honor  W.  P.  Connerlay,  Mayor  of 

Wilmington,  N.  C. ;  and  His  Honor  R.  M.  Richardson, 

Mayor  of  Portland,  Me. 

Councilmen  Edwin  Sibley  and  I^aac  P.  Clarke  ;  His  Honor  Henry  G. 

Lewis,  Mayor  of  New  Haven,  Conn. ;  and  His  Honor  Alpheus 

Gay,  Mayor  of  Manchester,  N.  H. 


58       CENTENNIAL  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE 

Councilmen  Francis  H.  Peabody  and  John  N.  Devereux ;  Alderman 
Mackey  of  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  and  Hon.  William  Bigler  of 

Philadelphia,  Financial  Agent  Centennial  Commission. 

Councilmen  Eugene  H.  Sampson  and  Curtis  Guild ;  General  Joseph 

R.  Hawley,  President  of  the  U.  S.  Centennial  Commission  ;  and 

Alfred  T.  Goshorn,  Esq.,  Director  General  U.  S.  Centennial 

Commission. 

Hon.   Daniel    J.    Morrell,    Chairman    Executive   Committee  U.    S. 
Centennial  Commission ;  Dr.  Buckminster  Brown,  husband  of 
the  grand-daughter  of  General  Joseph  Warren ;  Warren  Put- 
nam Newcomb,  great-great-grandson  of  General  Warren 

and  General  Putnam ;  and  Dr.  Edward  Warren. 

His  Honor  Henry  L.  Williams,  Mayor  of  Salem ;  His  Honor  Isaac 

Bradford,  Mayor  of  Cambridge  ;  His  Honor  Abraham  H. 

Howland,  Mayor  of  New  Bedford  ;  and  His  Honor 

Jacob  M.  Lewis,  Mayor  of  Lynn. 

His  Honor  D.  F.  Atkinson,  Mayor  of  Newburyport ;  His  Honor  R.  H. 

Tewksbury,  Mayor  of  Lawrence  ;  His  Honor  James  F.  Davenport, 

Mayor  of  Fall  River ;  and  His  Honor  Charles  H.  Ferson, 

Mayor  of  Chelsea. 

His  Honor.  George  H.  Babbitt,  Mayor  of  Taunton  ;  His  Honor  Wm. 

H.  Furber,  Mayor  of  Somerville  ;   His  Honor  W.  B.  Pearsons, 

Mayor  of  Holyoke  ;  and  His  Honor  Robert  R.  Fears, 

Mayor  of  Gloucester. 
His  Honor  James  F.  C.  Hyde,   Mayor  of  Newton ;   Hon.  Charles 

Francis  Adams  ;  and  Hon.  William  Gray. 
Mr.  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  Hon.  Ebenezer  Rockwood  Hoar,  Mr. 

Joseph  Heywood,  of  Concord,  and  Hon.  Otis  Norcross. 
Mr.   W.    H.   Munroe,  of  Lexington ;    Hon.   Josiah    Quincy,   Hon. 

Alexander  H.  Rice,  and  Hon.  Joseph  M.  Wightman. 
Dr.  J.  V.  C.  Smith,  Mr.  John  Cummings,  of  Woburn ;  Hon.  J.  J. 

Clarke,  and  Hon.  Linus  B.  Comins. 
Hon.    Geo.    Lewis,   Hon.  S.  S.    Sleeper,    Mr.  Joseph   W.  Tucker, 

and  Hon.  E.  L.  Norton. 

Hon.  Liverus  Hull,  Hon.  P.  J.  Stone,  Hon.  Jas.  Adams,  and  His 
Honor  Alpheus  Currier,  Mayor  of  Haverhill. 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER   HILL.  59 

Members  of  the  City  Council  of  Boston  (not  included  in  the  Com- 
mittee of  Arrangements) ,  and  heads  of  City  Departments. 

The  American  Band  of  Cambridge. 
The  National  Lancers,  Captain  Cyrus  C.  Emery  commanding. 

THE  STATE  GOVERNMENT  AND  GUESTS. 

Hon.  Henry  Wilson,  the  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  ;  Hon. 

George   B.   Loring,   President  of   the   Massachusetts  Senate; 

Mr.  Justice  Strong,  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court ; 

and  Rev.  W.  E.  Strong,  of  Roxbury. 

Hon.Willard  P.  Phillips,  of  Salem  ;  Mr.  Samuel  May,  of  Leicester ;  His 

Excellency  Stephen  Preston,  the  Haytien  Minister  ;  and 

His  Excellency  Senor  Don  Francisco  Gonzales 

Errazuriz,  the  Chilian  Minister. 

General  William  T.  Sherman,  Major  General  Irwin  McDowell,  Col. 
J.  C.  Audenried,  of  Gen.  Sherman's  staff;  and 

Hon.  E.  D.  Winslow. 

Bvt.  Major  General  Nelson  A.  Miles,  5th  Infantry  U.  S.  A. ;  Bvt. 

Brigadier  General  0.  M.   Poe,  U.   S.  A.  ;  Bvt.  Brigadier 

General  J.  E.  Tourtellotte,  of  General  Sherman's  staff; 

and  Bvt.  Major  General  E.  W.  Hinks. 
General  T.  J.  Haines,  Col.  Theodore  T.  S.  Laidley,  Captain  W.  R. 

Livermore,  and  C.  E.  Jewett. 

Hon.  Hannibal  Hamlin,  United  States  Senator  from  Maine ;   Hon. 

Thomas  W.  Ferry,  United  States  Senator  from  Michigan ; 

Hon.  George  S.  Boutwell,  United  States  Senator 

from  Massachusetts  ;  and  Mr.  Enoch  H. 

Towne,  of  Worcester. 

Gen.  Thomas  Kilby  Smith,  of  Gen.  Sherman's  staff;  Hon.  C.  P. 
Thompson,  Hon.  B.  W.  Harris,  and  Hon.  Rufus  S.  Frost, 

Representatives  in  Congress  from  Massachusetts. 

Hon.  Eugene  Hale,  and  Hon.  John  H.  Burleigh,  Representatives  in 

Congress  from  Maine ;  Hon.  John  K.  Tarbox,  Representative 

in    Congress    from    Massachusetts ;     and 

Judge  Waldo  Colburn. 
Chandler's  Band,  of  Portland. 

The  Portland  Cadets,  Captain  N.  D.  Winslow  commanding, 
escorting 


60  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

His  Excellency  Nelson  Dingley,  Jr.,  Governor  of  Maine,  and  staff; 
Speaker  Thomas,  of  the  Maine  House  of  Representatives,   and 

Hon.  Francis  D.  Stedman,  of  the  Massachusetts  Senate. 
His  Excellency  Person  C.   Cheney,  Governor  of  New  Hampshire, 

and  staff. 
Drum  Corps. 

First  Company  Governor's  Foot  Guard  of  Hartford,  Major  John  C. 
Parsons  commanding,  t 

escorting 

His  Excellency  Charles  R.  Ingersoll,  Governor  of  Connecticut,  and 
staff;  General  Walter  Harriman,  U.  S.  Naval  Officer,  and 

General  A.  B.  Underwood,  U.  S.  Surveyor,  of*  Boston. 
His  Excellency  Henry  S.  Lippitt,  Governor  of  Rhode  Island,  and 

staff. 

His  Excellency  Joseph  D.  Bedle,  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  and  staff; 

and  Hon.  T.  J.  Dacey,  of  the  Massachusetts  Senate. 

The  first  troop  of  City  Cavalry,  Philadelphia, 

escorting 
His  Excellency  John  F.  Hartranffc,  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  and 

staff,  mounted. 

His  Excellency  Adelbert  Ames,  Governor  of  Mississippi ;  His  Excel- 
lency J.  D.  Bagley,  Governor  of  Michigan ;  Hon.  George  F. 
Shepley,  Judge  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court ;  and  Hon. 

George  P.  Sanger,  U.  S.  District  Attorney. 
Mr.  Chief  Justice  Gray  and  Associate  Justices  Wells,  Endicott  and 

Ames,  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  of  Massachusetts. 
Col.  George  L.  Browne,  of  the  Old  Guard,  State  Fencibles  of  Phila- 
delphia ;  ex-Gov.  Emory  Washburn  ;  Hon.  Wm.  A.  Simmons, 

Collector  of  the  port  of  Boston. 
Lieut.-Gov.  Horatio  G.  Knight,  and  Hon.  Geo.  Whitney,  Hon.  Seth 

Turner  and  Hon.  Geo.  O.  Brastow,  of  the  Executive  Council. 
Hon.  E.  H.  Brewster,  Hon.  Alden  Leland,  Hon.  J.  K.  Baker  and 

Hon.  E.  H.  Dunn,  of  the  Executive  Council. 

Hon.  R.  Couch  ;  Senator  Wm.  H.  Phillips  of  Berkshire  ;  and  Senator 
Geo.  A.  Davis,  of  Essex. 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER  HILL. 

Hon.  Oliver  "Warner,  Secretary  of  State;  Hon.  Charles  Adams,  Jr., 
Treasurer  and  Receiver-General ;  Hon.  Charles  Endicott,  Audi- 
tor ;  and  Hon.  Charles  R.  Train,  Attorney-General. 
Mr.  Charles  Hale  of  the  House ;   Ensign  H.  Kellogg,  Charles  A. 
Phelps,  ex-Speakers  of  the  House  of  Representatives  ;  and  Col. 

Joseph  A.  Harwood,  of  the  Senate. 

The  members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
General  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


THIRD    DIVISION. 

Colonel  Charles  E.  Fuller,  Chief  of  Division. 
AIDS. 

Col.  F.  R.  Appleton,  Assistant  Adjutant  General ;  Col.  S.  D.  Warren, 

Jr.,  Col.  J.   H.   "Welles,   Capt.   Roswell  C.   Downer, 

Lieut.  Henry  E.  "Warner,  Col.  J.  L.  Baker. 

This  division  was  composed  of  the  following  organizations  :  — 

The  Massachusetts  Commandery  of  the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal 
Legion  of  the  United  States,  under  command  of  Gen.  Francis  "W. 
Palfrey,  accompanied  by  Major  General  A.   E.  Burnside. 
[On  the  top  of  the  staff  which  bore  their  banner  was  perched 
a  solid  silver  eagle,  which  was  presented  to  the  New 
England  Guards,  by  Arnold  Wells,  in  1812.   It 
was  carried  by  the  Guards  at  the  laying  of 
the  corner-stone  of  Bunker  Hill  Monu- 
ment, 1825,  and  again  at  the 
completion  of  the  Monu- 
ment, 1843.] 

The  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association,  in   carriages ;   President 

George  Washington  Warren ;  with  Hon.  Charles 

Devens,  Jr.,  the  orator  of  the  day. 


62        CENTENNIAL  ANNIVEESAEY  OF  THE 

The  Officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Masons  in  Massachusetts,  Percival 

L.  Everett,  Grand  Master.     [The  Grand  Master  wore  the  apron 

which  belonged   to  General  Joseph   Warren   at   the   time 

of  his  death.     Dr.  Winslow  Lewis,  Deputy  Grand 

Master,   wore  the   apron  once  belonging  to 

Gen.    Lafayette,    and  which    was    worn 

at  the    laying   of   the    corner-stone 

of  Bunker  Hill  Monument.] 

The  carriage  formerly  belonging  to  Governor  Eustis,  and  in  which 

Lafayette  was  accustomed  to  ride  when  he  was  his  guest, 

occupied  by  Mr.  William  E.  Baker,  the  present 

owner,  and  by  Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder, 

President  of  the  New  England 

Historic-Genealogical 

Society. 

The    New    England    Historic-Genealogical    Society,   in    carriages. 

Delegates :   Hon.    Israel  Washburn,   Jr.,    Maine ;    W.   B. 

Towne,    Esq.,   New   Hampshire;    Hon.    William 

Hill,  Vermont;   Hon.  John  I.   Bartlett, 

Rhode   Island. 

The   American  Antiquarian   Society   of  Worcester,   in   a  carriage. 

Delegates:  S.    F.    Haven,    Esq.,     Dr.     Joseph 

Sargent,  Dr.  Rufus  Woodward, 

Dr.  Nathaniel  Paine. 

Pilgrim  Association  of  Plymouth.     Delegates  :  W.  T.  Davis,  Presi- 
dent ;  I.  N.  Stoddard,  W.  S.  Danforth,  E.  C. 

Sherman,  W.  H.  Whitman. 

The    Massachusetts     Society    of    the     Order    of    the    Cincinnati. 

Forty  delegates  in  carriages,  under  President 

Admiral  H.  K.  Thatcher. 

Eliot  Band  of  Boston. 
The    Massachusetts    Charitable    Mechanics'   Association,  President 

Nathaniel  Adams. 
Massachusetts  Veterans  of  1812.     Association  represented  by  Major 

Nathan  Warren. 
The  Boston  Charitable  Irish  Society,  Bernard  Corr,  President. 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL. 


FOURTH  DIVISION. 
Col.  Thos.  L.  Livermore,  Chief  of  Division. 

AIDS. 

Col.  Charles  E.  Hapgood,  Assistant  Adjutant  General ;  Col.  Thomas 
E.  Barker,  Col.  Daniel  K.  Cross,  Major  Benj.  F.  Weeks, 

Major  Geo.  E.  Fayerweather. 

This  division  was  composed  of  veteran  organizations  formed  into  a 

Brigade,  under  the  command  of  Major  Dexter  H.  Follett,  as 

follows :  — 

The  Germania  Band  of  Boston. 

The  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  organized'  in  1638, 
Major  General  Nathaniel  P.  Banks  commanding. 

The  Redwood  Band  of  Newport,  R.  I. 

The  Newport  (R.  I.)  Artillery  Veteran  Association,  organized  in 
1741,  Colonel  Julius  Sayer  commanding,  accompanied 

by  officers  of  the  Newport  Artillery  Company. 

The  United  States  Naval  Band  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 

The  Newburyport,  Mass.,  Veteran  Artillery  Company,  organized  in 

1775,  Col.  E.  E.  Stone  commanding. 

The    Saunders    Band    of   Peabody,    Mass. 

The  Salem  (Mass.)  Light  Infantry  Veteran  Association,  organized  in 

1805,  Col.  John  F.  Fellows  commanding. 
The  Veteran  Association  Band  of  Providence. 

The  First  Light  Infantry  Veteran  Association  of  Providence,  R.  L, 
organized  in  1818,  Major-General  W.  W.  Brown  commanding. 

The  Veteran  Seventh  Regiment  Band,  New  York. 

The  Veteran  National  Guard,  7th  Regiment,  State  of  New  York, 

Colonel    Marshall    Lefferts    commanding. 

The  Manchester  (N.  H.)  Cornet  Band. 
The  Amoskeag  Veterans,  of  Manchester,  N.  H.,  Major  George  C. 

Gilmore  commanding. 
The  Putnam  Phalanx  Drum  Corps. 

The    Putnam    Phalanx,    of    Hartford,    Connecticut,   Major    Henry 
Kennedy  commanding. 


64  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

Downing's  Ninth  Regiment  Band,  of  New  York. 
The  Old  Guard,  of  New  York,  Major  G.  W.  McLean  commanding, 

Accompanied  by 
Bvt.  Brigadier  General  Washington  Hadley,  J.T.  Howe,  Esq.,  Major 

J.  W.  Hazlet,  and  C.  D.  Fredericks,  Esq. 

The  Washington  Light  Infantry,  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  Major  R.  C. 
Gilchrist,  First  Lieutenant,  commanding, 

Accompanied  by 
Col.    Thomas    Y.    Simons,    Col.   A.   O.    Andrews,    J.    Lawrence 

Honour,  Esq. 

The  Norfolk  Light  Artillery  Blues,  of  Norfolk,  Va.,  four  guns,  Cap- 
tain James  W.  Gilmer  commanding. 

Carriages  containing,  as  guests  of  the  Blues,  Gen.  Fitz  Hugh  Lee,  who 
commanded  a  division  of  Confederate  cavalry  during  the  late  war ; 
Col.  Walter  H.  Taylor,  who  was  Adjutant  General  to  Gen. 
Robert  E.  Lee;  Col.  Stark,  who  commanded  Norfolk 
troops  ;  Capt.  E.  B.  White,  who  was  of  the  Con- 
federate   Navy ;     Mr.    M.   Glennan    of    the 
Norfolk  Virginian;  and  C.  E.  Perkins  of        f 
the  Norfolk  Landmark. 

Drum  Corps. 
Old     Columbians,   organized    in     1792,     Capt.     Michael    Doherty 

commanding. 

Amesbury  Veteran  Artillery  Association  Band. 
The  Amesbury  and  Salisbury  Veteran  Association,  Capt.  Newell  Boyd 

commanding. 

Decorated  carriage,  containing  twelve  old  sailors,  and  also  a  piece 
of  ordnance  cast  in  1736,  and  taken  from  Fort  Point  channel. 


FIFTH  DIVISION. 

Chief  of  Division,  Gen.  J.  Cushing  Edmands. 

AIDS. 

Col.   Edward  B.  Blasland,  Assistant  Adjutant  General ;  Capt.  T.  R. 

Matthews,  Gen.  E.  Blakeslee,  Lieut.  Wm.  H.  Bird, 

Lieut.  C.  M.  Haley. 


BATTLE    OF  BUNKER  HILL.  65 

American  Band  of  Boston. 
Lexington  Minute  M«n,  Acting  Major,  E.  L.  Zalinski,  U.  S.  A. 

Boston  School  Regiment  Drum  Corps. 

Boston  School  Regiment,  Colonel  William  B.  Lawrence  commanding. 
The  Latin  School  Battalion,  Major  Edward  Robinson  commanding. 
First  Battalion  English  High  School,  Major  E.  C.  Wilde  commanding. 
Second  Battalion,  English  High  School,  Major  George  Nickerson 

commanding. 
The  Highland  Battalion,  Major  A.  L.  Jacobs  commanding. 

Drum  Corps. 

The  Cambridge  Cadets,  of   East  Cambridge,  Capt.   E.   A.  Cooney 

commanding. 

Drum  Corps. 

The  Chelmsford  Minute  Men,  of  Chelmsford,  Mass. 

The  Boston  Caledonian  Club,  John  Stark,  Chief. 
The   Thorndike    Horse  Guards,   of   Beverly,   Captain     Hugh    Hill 

commanding. 
The     Magoun     Battery,     of    Medford,    Captain     Charles     Russell 

commanding. 
The  Franco-Belgian  Benevolent  Society,  in  barouches,  with  American, 

French  and  Belgian  colors. 
The  Boston  Highland  Benevolent  Association,  in  a  barge. 


SIXTH  DIVISION. 
Chief  of  Division,  Charles  B.  Fox. 

AIDS. 

Col.  Francis  S.  Hesseltine,  Major  Cyrus  S.  Haldeman,  Major  Frank 

Goodwin,  Lieutenants  Henry  D.  Pope,  and  Wm.  Chickering. 
Charles  Russell  Lowell  Post  No.  7,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Boston,  Thomas  M. 

Kenney,  commander. 
Berry's  Band  of  Lowell. 

Benjamin  F.   Butler  Post  No.    42,    of    Lowell,    G.    W.   Huntoon, 
commander. 


66  .  CENTElsTNTAL   AJOTVERSARY   OF   THE 

Stoneham  Brass  Band. 
Radiant  Star  Council  No.  5,  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics  of 

South  Boston,  Commander  Edward  Isaacs. 

Delegates  from  Bay  State  Council  No.   1,  of  Boston;  Bunker  Hill 
Council  No.  2,  of  Charlestown ;  High  Rock  Council  No.  6,  of 
Lynn  ;  Harvard  Council  No.  9,  of  Cambridge  ;  Israel  Putnam 
Council  No.  10,  of  Boston  ;  Niagara  Council  No.  11,  of 
Salem  ;  Warren  Council  No.  13,  of  Lynn  ;  Abraham 
Lincoln  Council  No.  14,  of  Somerville  ;  Saga- 
more Council  No.  15,  of  Saugus  ;  Roxbury 
Council  No.  17,  of  Boston  Highlands  ; 
aU  members  of  the  O.  U.  A.  M. 

organization. 
Delegates  from  the  Junior  Order   United  American   Mechanics  of 

Massachusetts. 
Representatives  of  the  National  and  Massachusetts  State  Councils, 

O.  U.  A.  M.,  in  barouches. 

Bond's  Brass  Band,  of  Boston. 

Ivanhoe    Lodge,   Knights    of    Pythias    No.     13,    of    Charlestown, 

T.  W.  Paine,  commander. 

Delegates  from  "Washington  Lodge  No.  10,  of  South  Boston ;  Common- 
wealth Lodge  No.  19,  of  Boston  ;  King  Solomon  Lodge  No.  18, 

of  Boston ;  Socrates  Lodge  No.  21,  of  South  Boston ;  Old 
^      Colony  Lodge  No.  43,  of  Abington ;  Mattapan  Lodge 
No.  44,  of  Dorchester ;  all  Knights  of  Pythias. 

American  Brass  Band  of  Suncook,  N.  H. 

Oriental    Lodge,    Knights    of    Pythias,    of  Suncook,     N.   H., 
H.    D.    Wood,    commander. 

Johnson's  Drum  Corps. 

Colored  Veteran  Association,  Major  Burt  Smith  commanding. 

Delegates  from  the  Colored  Veteran  Association  of  Norfolk,  Va., 

accompanied  by  Inspector  General  J.  Mullen,  of  the  Grand  Army 

Order  of  Virginia,  and  North  and  South  Carolina. 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  67 


SEVENTH   DIVISION. 

John  T.  Bamrick,  Chief  of  Division. 
AIDS. 

Edward   Riley,   Assistant  Adjutant    General;    Patrick   O'Riorden, 
Dennis  Crowle}r,  James  H.  Lombard,  Timothy  C.  Mahoney, 

Daniel  Heffernau. 

This   division  was   composed   of  Catholic  Benevolent   Societies,  as 
follows :  — 

O'Connor's  mounted  Band. 
Knights  of  St.  Patrick,  composed  of  two  mounted  companies,  one 

from  Boston,  Capt.  Lyons  commanding ; 

Another  from  Lawrence,  Mass.,  Timothy  Dacey  commanding. 

Company  A,   of  the   Legion  of  St.    Patrick,  Gen.  J.  H.    Henchon 

commanding. 

The  United  Association  of  American  Hibernians  of  South  Boston, 
John  McCaffrey,  Chief  Marshal.    . 

Union  Brass  Band  of  L}Tnn. 

St.  Joseph  Cadets,  Captain  J.  F.  Lynch  commanding. 
St.  Joseph  Drum  Corps. 

Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  in  several  divisions,  namely  :  — 

Division  No.  1,  of  Boston,  Lawrence  Donovan  commanding. 

Belknap  Brass  Band,  of  Quincy. 

Division  No.  2,  of  East  Boston,  John  C.  McDevitt  commanding. 
Division  No.  3,  of  Jamaica  Plain,  D.  J.  Curley  commanding. 

Brookline  Band. 
Division  No.  4,  of  Boston,  J.  J.  Leevens  commanding. 

Brookline-  Hibernian  Band. 
Division  No.  5,  of  Salem,  Timothy  Foley  commanding. 

Lynn  Cornet  Band. 

Division  No.  8,  Jamaica  Plain,  James  McMorrow  commanding. 
Delegation  of  the  American  Society  of  Hibernians  in  a  barouche. 


68  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY  OF   THE 


EIGHTH  DIVISION. 

John  O'Brien,  Chief  of  Division. 

AIDS. 

Lawrence  P.  Furlong,  Assistant  Adjutant  General ;  Patrick  Coyle,  J. 
H.  O'Neil,  A.  J.  Phillip,  L.  C.  Dugan  ;  Orderly,  John  Calanan. 

Hibernia  Brass  Band,  Natick. 

Fulton  Cadets,  Capt.  J.  J.  Barry  commanding. 

St.   Valentine   Cadets,   two  companies,  Major  Thomas   Kelley 

commanding. 

St.  Valentine  Total  Abstinence  Society,  Marshal,  T.  H.  Good. 
Cathedral  Cadets,  Captain  M.  Mahoney  commanding. 

Drum  Corps. 
Father    Mathew    Cadets,    Maiden,    Captain    D.    J.    Murphy 

commanding. 
Loyola  Temperance   Cadets,  Melrose,  Captain  James  C.    Campbell 

commanding. 
Highland  Drum  Corps. 

Cathedral  Temperance  Society,  Marshal,  J.  J.  Nolan. 
St.  Joseph  Total  Abstinence  Society,  Marshal,  Jeremiah  Sheehy. 

Father  Mathew  Drum  Corps. 
Father  Mathew  Total   Abstinence   Society,  Lynn, 

Marshal,  Joseph  Murphy. 

South  Boston  Division,   Total  Abstinence   Society, 
Marshal,  E.   J.  Flaherty. 

Drum  Corps. 
Gate  of  Heaven  Cadets,  Colonel  E.  Haynes  commanding. 

Drum  Corps. 
St<  Vincent's  Total  Abstinence  Society,  Marshal,  D.  Fahey. 

Saxonville  Brass  Band,  with  Drum  Corps. 

Saints  Peter  and  Paul  Total  Abstinence  Society, 

Marshal,  William  Ward. 

Drum  Corps. 

St.  Augustine  Total  Abstinence  Society,  Marshal,  Michael  Creed. 

South  Boston  Young  Men's   Total    Abstinence   Society, 

Marshal,  C.  J.  Ford. 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER  HILL.  69 

St.  James  Temperance  Drum  Corps. 
St.  James  Total  Abstinence  Society,  Marshal,  James  Cotter. 

Drum  Corps. 

St.    James  Young   Men's  Total  Abstinence  Society, 
Marshal,  L.  J.  Crowley. 

Drum  Corps. 
Saint    Rose    Total    Abstinence  and  Benevolent  Society,   Chelsea, 

Marshal,  Daniel  McGivern. 
Saint  Rose  Cadets,  Chelsea,  Captain  Win.  Evans  commanding. 

St.  Stephen  Drum  Corps. 
Saint   Stephen  "Guard  of  Honor"  Cadets,  Major  J.  H.  Flaherty 

commanding. 

Independent  Band,  East  Boston. 

St.  Stephens  Total  Abstinence  Society,  Marshal,  John  H.  Rohen. 
East  Boston  Total  Abstinence  Society,  Marshal,  P.  J.  Flanagan. 


NINTH  DIVISION. 
Levi  L.  Willcutt,  Esq.,  Chief  of  Division. 

AIDS. 

Major  Charles  B.  Whittemore,  Assistant  Adjutant  General ;   Captain 

Fred  R.  Shattuck,  Mr.  Nelson  V.  Titus,  Mr.  Charles  F.  Curtis, 

Mr.  Francis  H.  Willcutt,  Mr.  Benjamin  W.  Parker,  Mr. 

George    L.    Damon,   Mr.    William    B.   Pearce,   Mr. 

Charles  M.  Dunlap,  Mr.  Alfred  S.  Taylor. 

This  division  was  composed  of  representations  from  the  merchants, 
mechanics  and  manufacturers  of  Boston.  Although  the  proposition 
to  make  such  a  display  was  not  acted  upon  until  a  few  days  before 
the  celebration  was  to  take  place,  it  was  then  entered  into  with  such 
enthusiasm  as  to  produce  the  most  gratifying  result.  The  extent  and 
variety  of  the  exhibition  has  never  been  equalled  in  this  country. 
There  were  two  hundred  and  thirty-three  business  houses  and  manu- 
factories represented  by  four  hundred  and  twenty-one  teams,  fifteen 
hundred  and  eighty-seven  harnessed  horses,  and  twelve  hundred 


70  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

men.  Most  of  the  teams  were  handsomely  decorated,  and  many  of 
them  bore  inscriptions  of  a  patriotic  or  humorous  character.  The 
wagons  were  loaded  with  the  articles  sold  or  produced  by  the  exhibit- 
ors, and  in  some  cases  with  workmen  who  appeared  in  the  exercise 
of  their  vocation. 

The  finest  exhibitions  were  made  by  the  furniture-dealers,  piano  and 
organ  manufacturers,  glass-blowers,  leather-dealers,  grocers,  brewers, 
bakers,  and  florists.  The  brewers  appeared  with  fifty  wagons  and  one 
hundred  and  eight  horses  ;  the  furniture-dealers  with  thirty-six  wagons 
and  eighty-six  horses ;  the  piano  and  organ  manufacturers  with 
twenty-eight  wagons  and  ninety  horses  —  one  firm  alone  having 
twelve  four-horse  teams  ;  and  the  leather-dealers  with  nineteen  wagons 
and  fifty-two  horses.  The  furniture-dealers  and  the  bakers  were 
preceded  by  bands  of  music. 

This  division  closed  the  procession.  Throughout  the  route 
the  sidewalks  and  fronts  of  buildings  were  crowded  with 
spectators.  In  many  places  where  there  were  vacant  lots, 
platforms  or  tiers  of  seats  had  been  erected  and  were  let  at 
high  prices.  From  an  official  return  obtained  from  the  several 
steam  railway  companies  whose  cars  enter  the  city,  it  appears 
that  the  number  of  persons  brought  into  the  city  in  that  way 
during  the  day  was  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand.  If  we 
add  to  this  the  number  of  persons  who  arrived  previous  to  that 
day,  and  the  number  of  our  own  citizens  who  were  called  out 
by  the  display,  it  is  evident  that  the  procession  was  witnessed 
by  not  less  than  five  hundred  thousand  people.  The  chief 
officers  of  the  City  and  State,  and  their  distinguished  guests, 
were  greeted  with  cheers  and  shouts  of  welcome  as  they  passed 
along  the  crowded  streets. 

The  scene  on  Columbus  avenue,  as  the  long  column  of  troops 
passed  up  from  Dartmouth  street,  was  especially  grand  and  im- 
posing. The  houses  were  all  richly  decorated  with  flags,  ban- 
ners, shields,  pictures  and  mottoes.  At  the  head  of  the  ave- 
nue, where  the  procession  turned  into  Chester  park,  a  large 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER   HILL.  71 

ornamented  stand  had  been  erected,  with  seats  rising  one  above 
another  to  a  great  height.  The  upper  seats  were  occupied 
entirely  by  school  children,  who  waved  miniature  flags  as  the 
troops  passed  along,  keeping  time  in  their  motions  with  the 
music  of  the  bands. 

The  time  occupied  by  the  procession  in  passing  a  given  point 
(all  delays  being  deducted)  was  three  hours  and  fifty  minutes. 


SERVICES  ON  BUNKEK  HILL. 


BUNKER   HILL. 

[Drawn  by  EDWIN  A.  ABBEY.     Engraved  by  A.  V.  S.  ANTHONY.] 


SERVICES  ON  BUNKER  HILL. 


THE  services  on  Bunker  Hill  were  held  in  a  large  pavilion, 
erected  on  the  southerly  side  of  the  Monument  grounds.  The 
civic  portion  of  the  procession  reached  the  hill  about  a  quarter 
before  six  o'clock,  and  the  seats  in  the  pavilion  were  soon 
filled.  The  platform,  which  faced  the  Monument,  was  occu- 
pied by  the  distinguished  guests  of  the  Monument  Association, 
the  City,  and  the  State. 

At  six  o'clock  Colonel  HENRY  WALKER,  Chief  Marshal  of 
the  Association,  called  the  company  to  order,  and  said  :  — 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — I  have  the  pleasure  of 
introducing  to  you  Hon.  George  Washington  Warren 
as  President  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association 
and  as  President  of  the  Day. 

The  announcement  was  received  with  applause ;  and  Judge 
WARREN,  advancing  to  the  front  of  the  platform,  said  :  — 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  —  With  devout  thankful- 
ness for  the  auspicious  manner  in  which  this  day  has 
been  observed,  let  us  look  up  to  the  Supreme  Being 
for  His  blessing. 


76        CENTENNIAL  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE 

Rev.  RUFUS  ELLIS,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Church  of 
Boston,  then  offered  the  following  prayer  :  — 


PRAYER   BY   REV.    RCTFUS   ELLIS,    D.  D. 

God  of  all  power  and  grace,  as  we  gather  about 
our  pillar  of  remembrance,  let  it  be  into  Thy  holy 
presence.  We  adore  the  wonder  of  Thy  providence 
and  that  faithfulness  which  is  unto  all  generations. 
On  this  day  of  high  and  holy  memories  we  praise 
Thee,  the  God  of  our  fathers,  the  hope  of  their  hearts 
in  their  day  of  trial.  Thou  didst  lead  them  through 
the  cloud  and  through  the  sea,  and  gave  unto  them 
their  portion  amongst  the  nations;  and  in  all  these 
years  Thou  hast  watched  over  us,  and  hast  led  us 
safely  through  our  days  of  darkness,  and  made  us  one 
nation  before  Thee.  As  we  gather  from  the  East  and 
from  the  West,  from  the  £Torth  and  from  the  South,  to 
the  battle-field  of  our  nation,  let  it  be  into  a  fellowship 
of  love  and  service.  Make  the  word  which  shall  be 
spoken  to  us  this  day  Thy  word,  that  every  blessed 
faith,  hope  and  charity  may  be  deepened  in  our  hearts 
and  our  land  brought  nearer  to  the  kingdom  of  Thy 
dear  Son.  Under  the  heavens  which  He  hath  opened, 
and  in  the  spirit  which  He  hath  given,  and  in  the  words 
which  He  hath  taught,  let  us  all  say  unto  Thee,  "  Our 
Father,  who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy  name. 
Thy  kingdom  come,  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is 
done  in  heaven.  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,  and 
forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  those  who  tres- 
pass against  us ;  and  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  77 

deliver  us  from   evil,    for  Thine  is  the  kingdom,  and 
the  power,  and  the  glory,  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer,  the  Apollo  Club,  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang,  sang  the  following  hymn, 
entitled  "  Prayer  Before  the  Battle." 

Hear  us,  Almighty  One  ! 
Hear  us,  all  holy  One  ! 

Lord  of  the  battle  before  us  ! 
Father,  all  praise  to  Thee, 
Father,  all  thanks  to  Thee, 

That  Freedom's  banner  is  o'er  us  ! 

Like  a  consuming  brand, 
Stretch  forth  Thy  mighty  hand, 

Wrong  and  oppression  destroying. 
Help  us,  O  Lord  of  right ! 
Help  us,  O  God  of  might ! 

Help  us,  where  war-tides  are  flowing. 

Help  us,  though  we  may  fall ; 
From  out  the  grave  we  call ; 

Praise  to  Thy  name,  and  forever. 
All  power  and  glory  be 
Thine  through  eternity ! 

Help  us,  Almighty  One  !     Amen. 

Judge  WARREN  then  said :  It  is  with  extreme  pleas- 
ure that  I  have  the  honor  to  present  to  you  our 
esteemed  associate,  the  soldier,  the  scholar,  and  the 
jurist,  CHARLES  DEVENS,  Jr. 

GENERAL  DEVENS  was  received  with  hearty  applause.  After 
acknowledging  the  greeting  of  the  audience  he  proceeded  to 
deliver  the  following  address  :  — 


78  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF 


ADDRESS  OF  GENERAL  DEVENS. 

Fellow-  Citizens  :  —  In  pious  and  patriotic  commem- 
oration of  the  great  deed  which  one  hundred  years 
ago  was  done  on  this  immortal  field;  in  deep  thankful- 
ness for  the  blessings  which  have  been  showered  upon 
us  as  a  people  with  so  lavish  a  hand;  in  the  earnest  hope 
that  the  liberty,  guarded  and  sustained  by  the  sanctions 
of  law,  which  the  valor  of  our  fathers  won  for  us,  and 
which  we  hold  to-day  in  solemn  trust,  may  be  trans- 
mitted to  endless  generations,  —  we  have  gathered  in 
this  countless  throng,  representing  in  its  assemblage 
every  portion  of  our  common  country. 

A  welcome,  cordial,  generous,  and  heartfelt,  to  each 
and  all! 

Welcome  to  the  sons  of  New  England,  and  their  de- 
scendants, no  matter  where  their  homes  may  be!  They 
stand  upon  the  soil  made  sacred  now  and  forever  by 
the  blood  of  their  fathers.  Among  them  we  recognize 
with  peculiar  pleasure  and  satisfaction  those  allied  by 
family  ties  to  the  great  leaders  of  the  day,  —  to  Prescott, 
Putnam,  or  "Warren,  to  Stark,  Knowlton,  or  Pomeroy, 
—  and  equally  those  in  whose  veins  flows  the  kindred 
blood  of  any  of  the  brave  men  who  stood  together  in 
the  battle  line. 

Insignificant  as  the  conflict  seems  to  us  now  in  regard 
to  the  numbers  engaged,  unimportant  as  it  was  then  so 
far  as  results  purely  military  and  strategical  were  con- 
cerned, the  valor  and  patriotism  here  exhibited,  the  time 
when  and  the  opportunity  on  which  they  were  thus  dis- 
played, have  justly  caused  it  to  be  ranked  among  the 
decisive  battles  of  the  world. 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  79 

Welcome  to  the  citizens  of  every  State,  alike  from 
those  which  represent  the  thirteen  Colonies,  and  from 
the  younger  States  of  the  Union!  We  thank  them  all, 
whether  they  come  from  the  great  Middle  States,  which 
bind  us  together,  from  the  West,  or  from  the  South,  for 
the  pilgrimage  they  have  made  hither  in  generous  ap- 
preciation of  the  great  step  that  was  taken  here  upon 
the  jagged  and  thorny  path  on  which  we  were  com- 
pelled to  walk  in  our  journey  toward  independence. 
Fought  although  this  battle  was  by  the  men  of  the 
colonies  of  New  England,  they  did  not  stand  for  them- 
selves alone,  but  that  there  might  be  founded  a  struct- 
ure imperishable  as  any  that  man  can  rear  in  a  free  and 
united  government.  The  corner-stone  of  the  edifice  they 
laid  was  for  all  the  colonies  that  were,  all  the  States  that 
are,  all  the  States  that  are  yet  to  be. 

Welcome  to  the  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
the  Justices  of  its  Supreme  Court,  and  the  General 
commanding  its  armies!  They  represent  to  iis  the 
government  which  was  the  result  of  the  Revolution. 
In  1775  Massachusetts  was  the  most  populous  but  one 
or  perhaps  two  of  the  colonies,  and  by  the  unity  of  her 
people  the  most  powerful  and  warlike  of  any.  She  has 
seen,  notwithstanding  her  own  vast  increase  in  popu- 
lation and  wealth,  although  a  great  State  has  since  been 
taken  from  what  were  then  her  borders,  her  relative 
position  change;  but  she  has  seen  with  admiration  and 
not  with  envy,  with  pride  and  satisfaction  and  not  with 
mean  jealousy,  the  growth  of  States  broader,  richer,  and 
fairer  than  she  can  hope  to  be.  Whatever  changes  may 
have  come,  her  spirit  has  not  changed,  her  voice  has  not 
altered.  Then  singled  out  from  the  colonies  to  be  first 


80  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY    OF    THE 

subdued  and  punished,  as  she  lifted  her  head  in  stern 
defence  of  her  ancient  liberty,  in  proud  defiance  of  those 
who  would  oppress  her,  demanding  her  own  great  right 
of  local  self-government,  she  called  upon  her  sister  colo- 
nies for  a  union  that  should  secure  and  maintain  the 
rights  of  all;  so  to-day  she  demands  for  all  others  every 
right  which  she  asks  for  herself,  and  she  calls  upon  all 
for  that  cordial  and  generous  obedience  which  she  is 
ready  to  render  to  the  Constitution  which  has  united 
them  forever. 

It  was  to  be  expected,  as  the  controversy  between 
Great  Britain  and  her  colonies  moved  on  from  the  pro- 
posed passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  in  1764,  and  as  its 
inevitable  tendency  developed,  that  its  weight  should  be 
thrown  in  the  first  instance  upon  New  England  and  her 
chief  town  and  colony.  The  colonies  differed  in  some 
important  respects  in  the  manner  in  which  they  had 
been  settled  and  in  the  character  of  their  people.  To 
some  there  was  nothing  distasteful  in  a  monarchial 
government  as  such,  if  it  ha4  been  wisely  and  liberally 
administered ;  but  New  England  remembered  always  the 
race  from  which  she  sprung,  and  why  her  fathers  had 
crossed  the  sea.  Others  had  come  from  a  love  of  ad- 
venture, from  the  hope  of  wealth,  from  a  desire  to  test 
the  fortunes  of  a  new  world;  but  for  none  of  these  things 
had  her  founders  left  the  pleasant  fields  and  loved  homes 
of  their  native  land;  and  the  unquenchable  love  of  lib- 
erty which  animated  them  lived  still  in  the  bosoms  of 
their  descendants.  Nor  was  her  stern  religious  faith 
averse  to  the  assertion  by  force  of  what  she  deemed  her 
liberties.  In  Parliament,  the  spirit  that  prevailed  at 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  81 

the  time  of  the  accession  of  George  in.  was  different 
from  that  ardent  zeal  for  constitutional  freedom  which 
had  resulted  in  the  dethronement  of  James  II. ;  but  New 
England  understood  her  rights,  and  was  prompt  to 
maintain  them  always  in  the  spirit  of  the  English  Com- 
monwealth. "  In  what  book,"  said  one  to  Selden,  "  do 
you  find  the  authority  to  resist  tyranny  by  force?  "  and 
the  great  lawyer  of  that  day  answered,  "It  is  the 
custom  of  England,  and  the  custom  of  England  is  the 
law  of  the  land." 

It  was  not  the  right  to  tax  without  representation 
merely :  it  was  the  claim,  necessarily  involved  in  such  a 
right,  to  govern  in  a  different  manner,  and  through  offi- 
cials appointed  by  the  British  crown,  that  astonished  the 
colonies,  and  united  all  at  first  in  remonstrance  and  after- 
ward in  determined  resistance.  Her  own  character  and 
the  circumstances  of  her  situation  had  placed  Massa- 
chusetts in  the  van  of  this  conflict,  and  had  caused  her, 
when  the  policy  of  coercion  was  finally  resolved  on,  to 
be  dealt  with  by  a  system  of  legislation  unprecedented 
in  the  method  usually  adopted  by  Britain  in  governing 
her  colonies.  It  was  industriously  circulated  in  Par- 
liament that  she  would  not  be  sustained  by  the  others 
in  the  resolute  attitude  which  she  had  assumed;  and 
upon  her  were  rained  in  rapid  succession  the  statutes 
known  by  the  popular  names  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill, 
the  Regulating  Act,  the  Enforcing  Act,  which  were  in- 
tended to  reduce  her  chief  town,  the  most  important  in 
Korth  America,  to  beggary;  which  abrogated  the  pro- 
visions of  her  charter,  and  took  from  the  people  the 
appointment  of  their  judges,  sheriffs,  and  chief  officers; 


82        CENTENNIAL  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE 

which  forbade  the  town  meetings,  whose  spirit  had 
been  too  bold  and  resolute  to  be  pleasant;  which  denied 
to  her  citizens  in  many  cases  the  trial  by  jury,  and 
permitted  them  to  be  transported  to  England  or  other 
colonies  for  trial :  a  system  which,  if  it  could'  have 
been  enforced,  would  have  reduced  her  inhabitants 
to  political  servitude.  Sustained  by  her  own  daring 
spirit,  and  by  the  generous  encouragement  of  her 
sister  colonies,  she  had  resisted;  and  the  ten  months 
that  had  preceded  Lexington  and  Concord  had  been 
practically  those  of  war,  although  blows  had  not  been 
struck,  and  blood  had  not  been  shed.  In  the  speech 
of  Mr.  Burke,  delivered  March,  1775,  upon  conciliation 
with  America,  memorable  not  so  much  for  its  splendid 
eloquence  (although  it  is  among  the  masterpieces  of 
the  English  language)  as  for  its  generous  statesman- 
ship, he  describes  Massachusetts,  the  utter  failure  of 
the  attempt  to  reduce  her  either  to  submission  or 
anarchy,  and  her  preservation  of  order  even  while  she 
rejected  the  authority  of  the  governor  and  judges 
appointed  by  the  British  crown.  He  closes  by  saying, 
w  How  long  it  will  continue  in  this  state,  or  what  may 
come  out  of  this  unheard-of  situation,  how  can  the 
wisest  of  us  conjecture  ?  " 

Obviously  no  such  condition  of  things  could  endure; 
and,  before  his  words  could  cross  the  Atlantic,  the  ques- 
tion that  he  asked  had  been  answered  by  the  appeal  to 
arms.  The  hoof-beats  of  Paul  Revere's  horse  along 
the  Lexington  road  had  announced,  as  the  yeomanry  of 
Middlesex,  Essex,  and  "Worcester  sprang  to  arms  to 
meet  the  movement  of  the  British,  on  the  evening  of 


BATTLE    OP   BUNKER   HILL.  83 

April  18,  from  Boston,  that  the  lull  was  over,  and  that 
the  storm  had  come  in  all  its  majesty. 

The  day  that  followed  had  changed  the  relation  of 
the  contending  parties  forever;  but  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  is  also  one  of  the  definite  steps  which  mark  the 
progress  of  the  American  Revolution.  It  was  not  the 
resistance  only  of  those  who  will  not  submit  to  be 
oppressed, — it  was  the  result  t>f  a  distinctly  aggressive 
movement  on  the  part  of  those  who  claim  the  right  to 
levy  and  maintain  armies;  nor  can  I  better  discharge 
the  duty  which  has  fallen  on  me,  by  the  deeply  regretted 
absence  of  the  distinguished  scholar  and  orator*  who 
it  was  hoped  would  have  addressed  you,  than  by  recall- 
ing its  events,  even  if  to  some  extent  I  shall  seem  to 
trespass  upon  the  domain  of  the  historian  or  the  an- 
nalist. The  deeds  of  brave  men  are  their  true  eulogy; 
and  from  a  calm  contemplation  of  them  we  may  draw 
an  inspiration  and  encouragement  greater  than  could  be 
derived  from  labored  argument  or  carefully  studied 
reflection. 

Lexington  and  Concord  had  been  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  the  gathering  of  the  militia  of  ~New  England 
for  the  siege  of  Boston,  where  Gage,  now  reinforced  by 
Clinton,  was  compelled  to  rest,  sheltered  by  the  cannon 
of  the  ships  of  war,  in  command  of  the  garrison  of  a 
beleaguered  town.  The  force  by  which  he  was  thus 
surrounded  was  an  irregular  one,  sprung  from  the  ardor 
and  enthusiasm  of  the  people,  which  far  exceeded  the 
means  in  their  power;  nor  had  it  any  distinctly  recog- 
nized commander;  for  while  a  precedence  was  accorded 

*  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop. 


84  CENTEISTNTAL    ANNIVEESAIIT    OF   THE 

to  General  Ward,  on  account  of  his  seniority,  and 
because  more  than  two-thirds  of  those  assembled  were 
Massachusetts  men,  as  no  colony  could  claim  authority 
over  another,  it  was  an  army  of  allies,  the  troops  of  each 
colony  being  commanded  by  its  own  officers,  while  all 
the  general  officers  formed  a  council  of  war. 

The  occupation  of  Bunker  Hill  was  resolved  on  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  Massachu- 
setts, made  with  knowledge  that  General  Gage  was 
about  to  take  possession  of  the  heights  of  Dorchester; 
and  on  the  evening  of  the  16th  of  June  the  force  des- 
tined for  this  formidable  movement  assembled  upon  the 
Common  at  Cambridge.  It  consisted  of  some  seven  or 
eight  hundred  men,  drawn  from  the  regiments  of  Pres- 
cott,  Frye,  and  Bridge,  and  some  two  hundred  men  of 
Connecticut,  from  the  regiment  of  Putnam,  under  Cap- 
tain Thomas  Knowlton;  the  whole  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  William  Prescott.  As  they  formed  for  their 
march,  Langdon,  the  President  of  Harvard  College, 
came  from  his  study,  and  implored  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  their  then  unknown  and  dangerous  expedition. 

So  always  may  the  voice  of  this  great  institution  of 
learning,  which,  among  their  earliest  acts  and  in  their 
day  of  weakness,  our  fathers  dedicated  to  the  cause  of 
sound  learning,  seem  to  be  uplifted  in  solemn  invoca- 
tion above  their  sons  in  every  struggle,  whether  in  the 
forum  or  the  field,  for  progress,  for  liberty,  and  for  the 
rights  of  man!  From  her  halls,  then  converted  into 
barracks,  had  come  forth  the  men  who,  within  the 
thirty-five  years  that  had  preceded,  had  more  largely 
than  any  others  controlled  and  conducted  the  great 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  85 

debate  between  England  and  her  colonies,  which,  be- 
ginning distinctly  in  1764  by  the  proposed  passage  of 
the  Stamp  Act,  was  now  to  be  settled  by  the  arbitra- 
ment of  arms.  In  1740  had  graduated  Samuel  Adams, 
and  in  his  thesis  for  the  Master's  degree  had  main- 
tained the  proposition  which  was  the  foundation  of  the 
Revolution,  that  it  was  lawful  to  resist  the  supreme 
magistrate,  if  the  Commonwealth  could  not  otherwise 
be  preserved.  He  had  been  followed,  among  others 
hardly  less  distinguished,  by  James  Otis,  by  Cooper  and 
Bowdoin,  Hancock  and  John  Adams,  by  Warren  and 
Quincy.  Differing  in  ages  and  occupations,  in  personal 
qualities  and  mental  characteristics,  this  remarkable 
group  had  been  drawn  together  by  a  common  enthu- 
siasm. To  their  work  they  had  brought  every  energy 
of  mind  and  heart;  and  they  had  so  managed  their  share 
of  the  controversy,  in  which  all  the  leading  statesmen  of 
Britain  had  participated,  as  to  have  commanded  the 
respect  of  their  opponents,  while  they  inspired  and  con- 
vinced their  own  countrymen.  Many  lived  to  see  their 
hopes  fulfilled,  yet  not  all.  Already  Quincy,  the  young- 
est of  this  illustrious  circle,  had  passed  away,  appealing 
with  his  dying  words  to  his  countrymen  to  be  prepared 
w  to  seal  their  faith  and  constancy  to  their  liberties  with 
their  blood."  Already  the  gloomy  shadow  of  mental 
darkness  had  obscured  forever  the  splendid  powers  of 
Otis ;  and  the  hour  of  Warren  was  nearly  come. 

It  was  nine  -o'clock  in  the  evening,  as  the  detach- 
ments, with  Prescott  at  their  head,  moved  from  Cam- 
bridge. On  arriving  at  Charlestown,  a  consultation 
was  held,  in  which  it  is  believed  that  Putnam,  and 


86  CENTENmAL   ATSTNIVERSABY   OF   THE 

perhaps  Pomeroy,  joined;  and  it  was  determined  to 
fortify  Breed's  Hill, — not  then  known  by  the  distinctive 
name  it  has  since  borne.  Connected  with  Bunker  Hill 
by  a  high  ridge,  these  two  eminences  might  not  im- 
properly be  considered  as  peaks  of  the  same  hill ;  and, 
for  the  purpose  of  annoyance  to  the  British  at  Boston, 
Breed's  Hill  was  better  adapted.  Together  they 
traverse  a  large  portion  of  the  peninsula  of  Charles- 
town,  which,  connected  to  the  main  land  by  a  narrow 
neck,  and,  broadening  as  it  approaches  Boston,  is 
washed  on  the  northern  side  by  the  Mystic,  and  on  the 
eastern  and  southern  by  the  Charles  river.  As  the 
line  of  retreat  to  the  Neck,  which  was  the  only  ap- 
proach, was  long,  Breed's  Hill  could  not  be  safely  held, 
however,  without  fortifying  Bunker  Hill  also. 

At  midnight  work  on  the  redoubt  began;  and  at 
dawn  the  entrenchments,  as  they  were  discovered  by 
the  British  fleet  in  Charles  river,  which  opened  upon 
them  at  once,  were  about  six  feet  high.  Well  sheltered 
within  them,  the  men,  under  a  terrific  cannonade  from 
the  ships  and  floating  batteries,  aided  by  a  battery  on 
Copp's  Hill  opposite,  continued  to  labor  at  the  works 
until  about  eleven  o'clock,  when  they  were  substantially 
finished.  At  about  this  time  General  Putnam  reached 
the  field,  and  recommended  that  the  intrenching  tools 
be  sent  to  Bunker  Hill,  where  he  directed  the  throwing 
up  of  a  breastwork,  which,  in  the  confusion  of  the  day, 
was  never  completed. 

Oppressed  by  their  severe  labor,  the  terrific  heat,  and 
their  want  of  water  and  provisions,  some  urged  upon 
Prescott  that  he  should  send  to  General  Ward  that  they 


BATTLE   OF  BUNKER  HILL.  87 

might  be  relieved ;  but  this  he  resolutely  refused,  saying- 
that  the  men  who  had  raised  the  works  were  best  able 
to  defend  them.  At  Cambridge,  however,  much  anx- 
iety prevailed;  and  General  Ward,  who  was  of  opinion 
that  General  Gage  must  attack  at  once,  and  would 
make  his  principal  attack  at  Cambridge,  was  unwilling 
to  weaken  the  main  army  until  his  intentions  should  be 
developed;  but,  yielding  partially  to  the  energetic  re- 
monstrances of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  through  Mr. 
Richard  Devens,  consented  to  order  to  Charlestown  the 
regiments  of  Stark  and  Head,  which  were  under  his 
control. 

The  consultation  at  Boston,  begun  at  the  announce- 
ment made  by  the  cannonade  from  the  British  ship,  was 
spirited  and  long.  It  was  the  opinion  of  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  that  troops  should  be  landed  at  the  Neck,  and 
the  evidently  small  force  upon  the  hill,  then  taken  in 
reverse,  would  easily  be  captured.  But  this  plan  had 
been  rejected  by  General  Gage,  as  the  force  thus 
landed  might  be  placed  between  two  forces  of  the 
enemy,  in  violation  of  the  military  axiom  that  troops 
should  be  compelled  to  deal  only  with  an  enemy  in 
front.  While  the  rule  is  sound,  its  application  in  this 
case  might  well  be  doubted,  as,  by  concentrating  the 
fire  of  the  British  ships  and  batteries,  it  would  have 
been  impossible  that  any  organized  force  could  have 
crossed  the  Neck,  had  the  British  forces  landed  near 
this  point,  and  thus  imprisoned  the  Americans  in  the 
peninsula. 

To  attack  the  works  in  front,  to  carry  them  by  main 
force,  to  show  how  little  able  the  rabble  that  manned 


88  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

'them  was  to  compete  with  the  troops  of  the  king, 
and  to  administer  a  stern  rebuke  that  should  punish 
severely  those  actually  in  arms,  and  admonish  those 
whose  loyalty  was  wavering,  was  more  in  accordance 
with  the  spirit  that  prevailed  in  the  British  army.  Its 
officers  were  smarting  under  the  disgraceful  retreat 
from  Lexington  and  Concord,  and  would  not  yet 
believe  that  they  had  before  them  foemen  worthy  of 
their  steel. 

It  was  soon  after  twelve  o'clock  when  the  troops 
commenced  their  movements  from  the  North  Battery 
and  Long  Wharf  of  Boston,  landing  at  about  one 
o'clock,  without  molestation,  at  the  extreme  point  of  the 
peninsula,  known  as  Moulton's  Point.  On  arriving, 
Major-General  Howe,  by  whom  they  were  commanded, 
finding  the  work  more  formidable  than  he  had  antici- 
pated, determined  to  send  for  reinforcements.  This 
delay  was  unwise;  for  the  interval,  although  it  brought 
him  additional  troops,  proved  of  far  more  advantage 
to  the  Americans. 

When  the  news  of  the  actual  landing  arrived  at 
Cambridge,  a  considerable  body  of  Massachusetts 
troops  was  ordered  toward  Charlestown,  while  General 
Putnam  ordered  forward  those  of  Connecticut.  Of  all 
these,  however,  comparatively  few  reached  the  line 
before  the  action  was  decided.  Many  never  reached 
Charlestown  at  all;  others  delayed  at  Prospect  Hill, 
appalled  at  the  tremendous  fire  with  which  the  British 
swept  the  Neck;  while  others  came  no  further  than 
Bunker  Hill. 

It  was  nearly  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when, 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  89 

reinforcements  having  arrived,  all  was  ready  in  the 
British  line  for  the  attack;  and  it  is  time  to  consider 
the  character  of  the  defences  erected,  and  their  position, 
as  well  as  the  forces  by  which  they  were  then  manned. 
The  redoubt,  which  would  inclose  the  spot  where  the 
Monument  now  stands,  was  upon  the  crest  of  Breed's 
Hill,  an  eminence  about  seventy  feet  in  height.  It  was 
about  eight  rods  square,  with  its  front  toward  the  south, 
overlooking  the  town  and  Charles  river.  Its  south- 
eastern angle  directly  faced  Copp's  Hill,  while  its 
eastern  side  fronted  extensive  fields  which  lay  between 
it  and  Moulton's  Point;  Moulton  Hill,  then  about  thirty 
feet  in  height,  but  now  levelled  with  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  was  situated  between  it  and  Moulton's  Point. 
The  eastern  side,  of  the  redoubt  was  prolonged  by  a 
breastwork  detached  by  a  sally-port,  which  extended  for 
about  one  hundred  yards  toward  a  marsh;  while  the 
northern  side  overlooked  the  Mystic  river,  from  which 
it  was  distant  about  five  hundred  yards. 

For  this  work  the  conflict  was  now  about  to  take 
place.  It  had,  however,  been  strengthened  upon  the 
side  toward  the  Mystic  by  a  protection  without  which 
it  would  have  been  untenable;  and  this  addition  had 
been  made  while  General  Howe  was  waiting  for 
reinforcements,  by  the  forethought  of  Prescott,  the 
skilful  conduct  of  Knowlton,  and  the  fortunate 
arrival  of  Stark.  Immediately  upon  the  first  landing, 
observing  an  intention  on  the  part  of  the  British 
General  of  moving  along  the  Mystic,  and  thus  attempt- 
ing to  outflank  the  Americans,  Prescott  had  directed 

Knowlton,  with  the  Connecticut  detachment  and  with 
12 


90  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

two  field-pieces,  to  oppose  them.  Captain  Knowlton, 
with  his  men,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  were  of 
the  original  command  of  Prescott,  moved  about  six 
hundred  feet  to  the  rear  of  the  redoubt  upon  the  side 
toward  the  Mystic,  and  took  a  position  there  near  the 
base  of  Bunker  Hill,  properly  so  called,  finding  a  fence 
which  extended  toward  the  Mystic,  the  foundation  of 
which  was  of  stone,  and  upon  it  two  rails.  Rapidly 
making,  with  the  materials  he  found,  another  fence  a 
few  feet  distant,  he  filled  the  interval  with  grass  from 
the  fields  which  the  mower  of  yesterday  had  passed 
over,  but  upon  which  the  "  great  reaper  "  was  to  gather 
to-day  a  rich  harvest.  While  thus  engaged,  Stark  (a 
part  of  whose  men  were  detained  at  Bunker  Hill  by 
Putnam  on  his  proposed  works  there) ,  followed  closely 
by  Read,  arrived,  and,  perceiving  instantly  the  im- 
portance of  this  position  for  the  defence  of  the 
intrenchments,  —  for  the  way,  as  he  says,  for  the 
enemy  was  "so  plain  he  could  not  miss  it,"  —  extended 
the  line  of  Knowlton  by  rails  and  stones  taken  from 
adjoining  fences  until  it  reached  the  river,  making 
on  the  extreme  left  on  the  beach  a  strong  stone  wall. 
As  the  rail-fence  was  so  far  to  the  rear  of  the  redoubt, 
there  was  of  course  an  interval  which  some  slight 
attempt  had  been  made  to  close,  and  where  also  was 
posted  the  artillery  of  the  Americans,  which,  however, 
insufficient  of  itself  and  feebly  served,  was  of  little 
importance  during  the  action. 

In  the  mean  time,  few  although  the  reinforcements 
were,  there  had  now  arrived  some  fresh  men  to  inspire 
with  confidence  those  who  had  toiled  with  Prescott 


BATTLE   OF    BUNKER   HILL.  91 

through  the  weary  night  and  exhausting  day  without 
food,  drink,  or  rest.  Just  before  the  battle  actually 
commenced,  detachments  from  the  Massachusetts  regi- 
ments of  Brewer,  Nixon,  Woodbridge,  Little,  and 
Major  Moore,  reached  the  field.  Most  of  these  take 
their  place  at  the  breastwork  on  the  left  of  the  eastern 
front  of  the  redoubt,  and  a  similar  breastwork  more 
hastily  made  by  using  a  cart- way  upon  the  right. 

Upon  the  extreme  right  were  posted  a  few  troops, 
extending  toward  the  base  of  the  hill,  while  two  flank- 
ing parties  were  thrown  out  by  Prescott  to  harass  the 
enemy. 

A  portion  of  the  Massachusetts  troops  who  arrive 
endeavor  to  fill  the  gap  which  exists  between  the  breast- 
work and  the  rail-fence,  while  yet  a  few  take  their  stand 
at  the  rail-fence.  Notably  among  these  latter  is  the 
veteran  General  Pomeroy,  of  Northampton,  too  old,  as 
he  thinks  a  few  days  later,  when  he  is  chosen  a  brigadier 
by  the  Continental  Congress,  to  accept  so  responsible  a 
trust;  yet  not  so  old  that  he  cannot  fight  yet  in  the 
ranks,  although  the  weight  of  seventy  years  is  upon 
hun.  Later  in  the  day,  when  his  musket  is  shattered  by 
a  shot,  he  waves  the  broken  stock  in  his  strong  right 
hand  as  he  directs  the  men,  —  a  leader's  truncheon  that 
tells  its  own  story  of  the  bravery  by  which  it  was  won. 
All  know  the  brave  old  man;  and  as,  declining  any 
command,  he  takes  his  place  as  a  volunteer,  he  is 
greeted  with  hearty  cheers.  To  the  redoubt  has  now 
come  "Warren,  in  that  spirit  of  a  true  soldier,  who, 
having  advised  against  a  plan  which  has  been  adopted, 
feels  the  more  called  upon  to  make  every  effort  that 


92  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY    OF   THE 

it  shall  succeed.  The  enthusiasm  with  which  he  is 
received  indicates  at  once  the  inspiration  and  encourage- 
ment that  the  men  all  feel  in  that  gallant  presence;  but 
when  Prescott  offers  him  the  command,  he  having  three 
days  before  been  appointed  a  major-general  by  the 
Provincial  Congress,  he  declines  it,  saying,  "  I  come  as 
a  volunteer  to  serve  under  you,  and  shall  be  happy  to 
learn  from  a  soldier  of  your  experience." 

The  peninsula  where  the  struggle  was  to  take  place 
was  in  full  view  across  the  calm  waters  of  the  harbor, 
and  of  the  Charles  and  Mystic  rivers,  whose  banks  were 
lined  with  people,  who  with  mournful  and  anxious  hearts 
awaited  the  issue,  while  each  house-top  in  the  town  was 
covered  with  eager  spectators.  From  Copp's  Hill, 
General  Gage,  with  Burgoyne  and  Clinton,  surrounded 
by  troops,  ready  themselves  to  move  at  an  instant's 
warning,  watches  the  onset  of  his  forces. 

The  champions  are  not  unworthy  of  the  arena  in 
which  they  stand.  To  those  who  love  the  w  pomp  and 
circumstance"  of  war,  the  British  troops  present  a 
splendid  array.  The  brilliant  light  flashes  back  from  the 
scarlet  uniforms,  the  showy  equipments,  and  the  glitter- 
ing arms ;  and,  as  they  move,  there  is  seen  the  effect  of 
that  discipline  whose  object  is  to.  put  at  the  disposal  of 
the  one  who  commands  the  strength  and  courage  of 
the  thousands  whom  he  leads.  They  are  of  the  best 
and  most  tried  troops  of  the  British  army;  and  some  of 
the  regiments  have  won  distinguished  honor  on  the 
battle-fields  of  Europe,  in  the  same  wars  in  which  the 
colonies  had  poured  out  their  blood  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic  in  hearty  and  generous  support  of  the  British 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  93 

crown.  Their  veteran  officers  are  men  who  have  seen 
service  in  Europe  and  America;  and  their  younger 
officers,  like  Lord  Rawdon  and  Lord  Harris,  bear  names 
afterwards  distinguished  in  the  chronicles  of  British 
warfare.  The  second  in  command  is  Brigadier-General 
Pigot,  slight  in  person,  but  known  as  an  officer  of  spirit 
and  judgment;  and  their  leader,  Major-General  Howe, 
bears  a  name  which  has  been  loved  and  honored  in 
America.  The  monument  which  Massachusetts  reared 
in  Westminster  Abbey  to  his  elder  brother,  Lord  Howe, 
who  fell  while  leading  a  column  of  British'  and  Ameri- 
cans at  Ticonderoga  in  1758,  still  stands  to  inscribe 
his  name  among  the  heroes  of  England,  whose  fame  is 
guarded  and  enshrined  within  that  ancient  pile.  Above 
their  lines  waves  the  great  British  ensign,  to  which  the 
colonies  have  always  looked  as  the  emblem  of  their 
country,  and  with  them  is  the  "  king's  name,"  which 
even  yet  is  a  tower  of  strength  in  the  land.  As  nearly 
as  we  can  estimate,  they  number  about  four  thousand 
men.  General  Gage's  report  indicates  sufficiently  that 
he  does  not  intend  to  state  the  number  engaged  when 
he  is  compelled,  later,  to  acknowledge  the  casualties  of 
the  day.  » 

Upon  the  other  side  a  different  scene  presents  itself. 
As  the  battle  is  about  to  open,  at  the  redoubt  and  upon 
its  flanks  are  the  troops  of  Massachusetts ;  at  the  rail- 
fence  are  the  troops  of  Connecticut  and  those  of  New 
Hampshire,  with  a  few  men  of  Massachusetts.  How 
many  there  were  in  all  cannot  be  determined  with  ac- 
curacy. Regiments  that  are  frequently  spoken  of  as 
being  present  at  the  engagement  were  represented  by 


94  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

but  weak  detachments.  Towards  the  close  of  the  battle 
a  few  more  arrive,  but  not  more  than  enough  to  make 
the  place  good  of  the  losses  that  have  in  the  mean  time 
occurred.  No  judgment  can  be  formed  more  accurate 
than  that  of  Washington,  who  was  so  soon  after  with 
the  army,  when  many  of  the  circumstances  were  inves- 
tigated, and  whose  mature  and  carefully  considered 
opinion  was,  that  at  no  time  upon  our  side  were  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  men  actually  engaged. 

As  we  look  down  the  line,  there  are  symptoms 
everywhere  of  determination;  for  such  has  been  the 
confusion,  and  so  little  has  been  the  command  which,  in 
their  movements,  the  officers  have  been  able  to  exercise, 
that  no  man  is  there  who  does  not  mean  to  be  there. 
A  few  free  colored  men  are  hi  the  ranks,  who  do  good 
service;  but  it  is  a  gathering  almost  exclusively  of  the 
yeomanry  of  New  England,  men  of  the  English  race 
and  blood,  who  stand  there  that  day  because  there  has 
been  an  attempt  to  invade  their  rights  as  Englishmen,  — 
rights  guaranteed  by  their  charters,  and  yet  older  than 
the  Magna  Charta  itself.  There  are  no  uniforms  to  please 
the  eye;  but,  as  the  cowl  does  not  make  the  monk,  so 
the  uniform  does  not  make  the  soldier,  and  in  their  rus- 
tic garb  they  will  show  themselves  worthy  of  the  name 
before  the  day  is  done.  No  flag  waves  above  their 
heads;  for  they  are  this  day  without  a  country,  and 
they  fight  that  they  may  have  one,  although  they  could 
not  have  dreamed  that  the  emblem  of  its  sovereignty 
should  float  as  it  now  does  over  millions  of  freemen 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  far  Pacific.  The  equipments 
and  arms  are  of  all  descriptions;  but  those  who  carry 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  95 

them  know  their  use,  and  all,  more  or  less  skilled  as 
marksmen,  mean,  in  their  stern  economy  of  powder, 
which  is  their  worst  deficiency,  that  'every  shot  shall 
tell.  There  is  little  discipline;  but  it  is  not  an  unwar- 
like  population,  and  among  the  men  are  scattered  those 
who  do  not  look  for  the  first  time  on  the  battle-field; 
and  with  all  is  that  sense  of  individual  responsibility  and 
duty  which  to  some  extent  takes  its  place,  —  that  proud 
self-consciousness  that  animates  those  who  know  that 
their  own  right  hands  must  work  their  own  deliverance. 
Poorly  officered  in  some  respects,  —  for  haste  and  bad 
management  have  put  many  important  posts  into  ineffi- 
cient hands,  —  there  are  also  with  them  officers  who, 
from  experience  and  ability,  might  be  well  counted  as 
leaders  on  any  field*  They  are  New  England  men, 
fully  understanding  those  they  command,  and  exercising 
an  influence,  -by  force  of  their  own  characters,  by  their 
self-devotion  and  enthusiasm,  which  cause  all  around 
them  to  yield  respectful  and  affectionate  obedience. 

Roughly  done,  the  works  they  have  hastily  made  are 
yet  formidable,  the  weakest  part  lying  in  the  imper- 
fectly closed  gap  between  the  breastwork  and  the 
rail-fence. 

At  the  rail-fence,  and  on  the  extreme  left,  is  Stark, 
distinguished  afterwards  by  the  battle  of  Bennington. 
He  has  shown  the  quick  eye  and  ready  hand  of  the 
practised  soldier  by  the  celerity  with  which  he  has 
extended  this  line  to  the  Mystic  river.  Knowlton  is 
there  also,  still  with  the  Connecticut  men,  as  yet  but 
little  reinforced,  whose  resolute  conduct  of  this  day 
deserves  the  same  eulogy  which  it  received  from  Wash- 


96  CENTENOTAL,   ANNIVERSARY   OF    THE 

ington,  when,  a  year  later,  he  fell  gloriously  fighting 
on  Harlem  Heights  at  the  head  of  his  regiment, 
—  that  "it  would  have  been  an  honor  to  any  coun- 
try." General  Putnam,  an  officer  of  tried  courage 
and  of  energetic  character,  has  come  to  share  in  the 
danger  of  the  assault,  now  that  it  is  evidently  approach- 
ing, and  is  everywhere  along  this  portion  of  the  line, 
inspiring,  encouraging,  and  sustaining  the  men.  All 
these,  like  Pomeroy,  are  veteran  soldiers,  who  have 
served  in  the  wars  with  France  and  her  savage  allies; 
and  it  is  a  sundering  of  old  ties  to  see  the  British 
flag  up  on  the  other  side. 

At  the  redoubt,  sustained  by  Warren,  stands  the 
commander  of  the  expedition  which  has  fortified 
Breed's  Hill.  He  has  himself  served  in  the  provincial 
forces  of  Massachusetts  under  the  British  flag,  and 
that  so  bravely  that  he  has  been  offered  a  commission 
in  the  regular  army,  but  has  preferred  the  life  of  a 
farmer  and  magistrate  in  .Middlesex.  His  large  and 
extensive  influence  he  has  given  to  the  patriotic  cause, 
and  has  been  recognized  from  the  first  as  one  of  those 
men  qualified  to  command.  Powerful  in  person,  with 
an  easy  humor  which  has  cheered  and  inspired  with 
confidence  all  who  are  around  him,  he  waits,  with  a 
calmness  and  courage  that  will  not  fail  him  in  the 
most  desperate  moment,  the  issue.  The  hour  that  he 
has  expected  has  come;  and  the  gage  of  battle,  so 
boldly  thrown  down  by  the  erection  of  the  redoubt,  has 
been  lifted. 

As  the  British  army  moved  to  the  attack,  it  was 
in  two  wings;  the  first  arranged  directly  to  assail  the 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  97 

redoubt,  and  led  by  Pigot;  while  the  other,  com- 
manded by  General  Howe  in  person,  was  divided  into 
two  distinct  columns,  one  of  which,  composed  of  light 
infantry,  was  close  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  and 
intended  to  turn  the  extreme  left  of  our  line,  and 
with  the  column  in  front  of  the  rail-fence  to  drive 
the  Americans  from  their  position,  and  cut  off  the 
retreat  of  those  in  the  redoubt.  > 

In  the  opinion  of  General  Burgoyne,  General  Howe's 
"  arrangements  were  soldier-like  and  perfect ; "  but  the 
conduct  of  the  battle  does  not,  in  a  military  point, 
deserve  such  high  commendation.  It  was  clearly  an 
error  on  the  part  of  General  Howe  to  divide  his  forces, 
and  make  two  points  of  attack  instead  of  one;  and  an 
equal  error  to  move  up  and  deploy  his  columns  to  fire, 
in  which  his  troops  were  at  obvious  disadvantage,  from 
their  want  of  protection,  instead  of  making  an  assault 
without  firing.  He  had  failed  also  to  recognize  the 
weak  point  in  the  line  between  the  breastwork  and 
the  rail-fence,  easier  to  carry  than  any  other  point,  and, 
if  carried,  more  certain  to  involve  the  whole  American 
force.  He  had  sluggishly  permitted  the  erection  of  the 
formidable  Rfield-work  of  the  rail-fence,  the  whole  of 
which  had  been  constructed  without  any  interference 
subsequent  to  his  arrival  on  the  peninsula;  nor,  when 
constructed,  does  it  seem  to  have  occurred  to  him 
that,  by  a  floating  battery  or  gunboat  stationed  in  the 
Mystic  river,  both  of  which  were  within  his  control,  it 
could  have  been  enfiladed,  and  the  force  there  dislodged 
at  once. 

As  the  British  are  seen  to  advance,  the  orders  are 

13 


98  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

renewed  along  the  whole  American  line,  in  a  hundred 
different  forms,  not  to  fire  till  the  enemy  are  within 
ten  or  twelve  rods,  and  then  to  wait  for  the  word,  to 
use  their  skill  as  marksmen,  and  to  make  every  shot 
tell.  For,  although  those  at  the  entrenchments  and 
rail-fence  act  without  immediate  concert,  the  scarcity 
of  powder,  and  the  fact  that  they  are  without  bayonets 
and  can  rely  only  upon  their  bullets,  is  known  to  all. 
It  had  been  intended  to  cover  the  movement  of  the 
British  by  a  discharge  of  artillery;  but  the  balls  were, 
by  some  mistake  of  the  ordnance  officer,  found  too 
large  for  the  guns,  and  afterward,  when  loaded  with 
grape,  it  was  found  impossible  to  draw  them  through 
the  miry  ground,  so  that  they  afforded,  in  the  first 
assault,  no  substantial  assistance. 

The  forces  of  Pigot  moved  slowly  forward,  impeded 
by  the  heavy  knapsacks  they  had  been  encumbered 
with,  and  by  the  fences  which  divided  the  fields,  and 
continued  to  fire  as  they  thus  advanced.  As  they  got 
within  gunshot,  although  their t fire  had  done  but  little 
damage,  our  men  could  not  entirely  restrain  their 
impatience;  but,  as  some  fired,  Prescott,  sternly*  re- 
buking the  disorder,  appealed  to  their  confidence  in 
him,  and  some  of  his  officers,  springing  upon  the 
parapet,  kicked  up  the  guns  that  rested  upon  it,  that 
they  might  be  sure  to  wait.  This  efficient  remon- 
strance had  its  effect,  and  the  enemy  were  within  ten  or 
twelve  rods  of  the  eastern  front  of  the  breastworks 
when  the  voice  of  Prescott  uttered  the  words  for  which 
every  ear  was  listening,  and  the  stream  of  fire  broke 
from  his  line  which,  by  its  terrible  carnage,  checked  at 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER  HILL.  99 

once  the  advance.  The  attacking  lines  were  old  troops, 
and  well  led ;  it  was  at  once  sternly  returned,  but  they 
did  not  rush  on,  and  in  a  few  moments,  wavering  and 
staggering  under  a  fire  which  was  murderous,  while 
their  own  did  little  execution,  Pigot  orders  his  men  to 
fall  back. 

In  the  mean  time  General  Howe,  after  unsuccessfully 
endeavoring  with  a  column  of  light  infantry  to  turn  the 
extreme  left  of  our  line  on  the  Mystic,  advanced  with 
the  grenadiers  directly  in  front  of  the  rail-fence;  and 
somewhat  annoyed  by  the  artillery  between  the  breast- 
work and  the  rail-fence,  which  here,  directed  by  Put- 
nam, did  its  best  service,  as  he  approached  within 
eighty  or  one  hundred  yards,  deployed  his  forces  into 
line.  As  at  the  redoubt,  in  eagerness,  some  of  our  men 
fired,  when  the  officers  threatened  to  cut  down  the  first 
man  who  disobeyed,  and,  thus  rebuked,  they  restrain 
themselves  until  the  prescribed  distance  is  reached, 
when  their  fire  is  delivered  with  such  telling  effect  that, 
broken  and  disarranged,  the  attacking  force,  alike  that 
directly  in  front  and  that  upon  the  banks  of  the  river, 
recoils  before  it,  while  many  of  the  British  officers  have 
felt  the  deadly  result  of  the  superiority  which  the 
Americans  possess  as  marksmen. 

Some  minutes,  perhaps  fifteen,  now  intervene  before 
the  second  assault,  which  are  moments  of  enthusiastic 
joy  in  the  American  lines.  All  see  that  they  are  led  by 
men  capable  of  directing  them,  that  they  have  rudely 
hurled  back  the  first  onset,  and  that  they  are  not  con- 
tending against  those  who  are  invincible.  As  they 
have  seen  their  enemy  turn,  some  of  them  at  the  rail- 


100  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

fence  in  their  eagerness  have  sprung  over  it  to  pursue, 
but  have  been  restrained  by  the  wisdom  of  their  officers. 
At  the  redoubt,  Prescott,  certain  that  the  enemy  will 
soon  re-form  and  again  attack,  while  he  commends  the 
men  for  their  courage  and  congratulates  them  for  their 
success,  urges  them  to  wait  again  for  his  order  before 
they  fire.  Putnam  hastens  from  the  lines,  his  object  being 
to  forward  r  enforcements,  and  to  arrange,  if  possible,  a 
new  line  of  defence  at  Bunker  Hill,  properly  so  called, 
where  all  was  in  confusion,  the  men  who  had  reached 
there  being  for  the  most  part  entirely  disorganized. 

The  horror  of  the  bloody  field  is  now  heightened  by 
the  burning  of  the  prosperous  town  of  Charlestown. 
This  had  been  threatened  as  early  as  April  21,  by  Gen- 
eral Gage,  if  the  American  forces  occupied  the  town; 
and  the  patriotic  inhabitants  had  informed  General 
Ward  that  they  desired  him  to  conduct  his  military 
operations  without  regard  to  it.  Complaining  of  the 
annoyance  which  the  sharp-shooters  posted  along  its 
edges  gave  to  his  troops  upon  the  extreme  left,  General 
Howe  has  requested  that  it  be  fired,  which  is  done  by 
the  cannon  from  Copp's  Hill;  it  may  be  also,  as  was 
afterwards  said,  under  the  impression  that  his  assaulting 
columns  would  be  covered  by  its  smoke.  The  smoke 
was  drifted,  however,  in  the  other  direction;  and  the 
provincials  beheld  without  dismay  a  deed  which  indi- 
cated the  ruthless  mode  in  which  the  war  was  to  be 
prosecuted.  As  the  enemy  advanced  to  the  second 
assault,  their  fire  was  more  effective.  .  At  the  redoubt, 
Colonels  Buckminster,  Brewer,  and  Nixon  are  wounded; 
Major  Moore  mortally.  No  general  result  is  produced ; 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  101 

and  again,  as  they  reach  the  distance  prescribed,  the  fire 
of  the  Americans,  directed  simultaneously  along  the 
whole  length  of  the  line,  alike  of  the  redoubt  and 
breastwork  as  well  as  the  rail-fence,  is  even  more  de- 
structive than  before.  Standing  the  first  shock,  the 
enemy  continue  to  advance  and  fire  still ;  but  against  so 
rapid  and  effective  a  wave  as  they  now  receive,  it  is  im- 
possible to  hold  their  ground,  and  although  their  officers, 
themselves  the  worst  sufferers,  are  seen  frantically  sum- 
moning them  to  their  duty,  all  is  in  vain;  they  are  swept 
back  in  complete  confusion.  General  Howe,  opposite 
the  rail-fence,  is  in  the  fiercest  and  thickest;  left  almost 
alone,  as  his  officers  are  struck  down  around  him,  he  is 
borne  along  by  the  current  of  the  retreat  rather  than 
directs  it. 

This  time  the  repulse  was  terrific.  "  In  front  of  our 
works,"  says  Prescott,  "  the  ground  was  covered  with 
the  killed  and  wounded,  many  of  them  within  a  few 
yards,"  while  before  the  rail-fence  "the  dead,"  in  the 
homely  phrase  of  Stark,  "  lay  thick  as  sheep  in  a  fold." 
Disorder  reigned  in  the  British  ranks;  to  stay  the  rout 
was  for  the  moment  impossible,  as  many  of  the  compa- 
nies had  entirely  lost  their  officers,  and  for  a  short  time 
it  seemed  that  they  could  not  rally  again.  Had  there 
been  a  reserve  of  fresh  troops  now  to  advance  (which 
"  there  might  have  been,  had  it  been  possible  to  organize 
the  scattered  detachments  which  had  already  reached 
Bunker's  Hill),  or  even  proper  support  and  reinforce- 
ment, the  conflict  would  have  ended  by  a  victory  so 
complete  that  perhaps  it  would  have  been  accepted  as 
putting  an  end  to  the  British  power  in  America. 


102  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

Before  the  third  assault  some  reinforcements  reached 
the  rail-fence,  especially  three  Connecticut  companies 
under  Major  Durkee,  and  a  portion  of  Gardiner's  regi- 
ment from  Middlesex,  the  colonel  of  which  was  killed 
during  the  engagement.  A  part  of  this  regiment  was 
detained  by  Putnam  on  his  proposed  work  at  Bunker 
Hill.  The  company  of  Josiah  Harris,  of  Charlestown, 
took  its  post  at  the  extreme  left  of  our  line  at  the  rail- 
fence,  and  won  for  its  native  town  the  honor,  when  the 
retreat  commenced,  of  being  the  last  to  leave  the  field. 

To  the  redoubt  and  breastwork  no  reinforcements 
came;  and,  although  the  determined  and  remarkable 
man  who  conducted  its  defence  may  well  have  been  dis- 
appointed at  this  failure,  no  word  of  discouragement 
escaped  his  lips.  He  knew  well  the  duty  which  as  an 
officer  he  owed  his  men,  and  at  another  time  might  have, 
felt  that  he  ought  to  retreat  from  a  position,  the  chance 
of  holding  which  was  so  slight;  yet  there  was  still  a 
chance,  and  he  comprehended  fully  that  on  that  day  it 
was  not  a  question  of  strategy  or  manosuvre,  but  of  the 
determination  and  courage  of  the  American  people  in 
the  assertion  of  their  freedom,  which  was  there  bloodily 
debated.  Calm  and  resolute,  cheerful  still  in  outward 
demeanor,  he  moved  around  his  lines,  assuring  his  men, 
"  If  we  drive  them  back  again,  they  cannot  rally ;  "  and, 
inspired  by  their  confidence  in  him,  they  answer  enthu- 
siastically, "  We  are  ready." 

No  supplies  of  powder  have  been  received,  and  there 
are  not  in  his  whole  command  fifty  bayonets,  so  that  if 
the  fire  shall  slacken,  and  the  enemy  force  their  way 
through  it,  resistance  is  impossible.  No  man  has  over 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  103 

three  rounds  of  ammunition,  and  many  only  two ;  and, 
when  a  few  artillery  cartridges  are  discovered,  the 
powder  in  them  is  distributed,  with  the  injunction  that 
not  a  kernel  should  be  wasted. 

Discipline,  which  at  such  moments  will  always  tell, 
in  perhaps  half  an  hour  has  done  its  work  among 
the  British  troops;  and  no  longer  self-confident,  but 
realizing  the  terrible  work  before  them,  the  men  are 
throwing  oif  knapsacks  for  a  final  and  desperate  assault. 
Some  have  remonstrated;  but  Sir  "William,  less  attractive 
than  his  brother,  General  Lord  Howe,  less  able  than  his 
brother,  Admiral  Lord  Howe,  who  now  bears  the  family 
title,  is  a  stern  soldier,  and  in  personal  courage  and 
determination  in  no  way  unworthy  of  the  martial  race 
to  which  he  belongs.  He  feels  that  his  own  reputation 
and  that  of  the  soldiers  he  commands  is  ruined  forever 
if  they  sustain  defeat  at  the  hands  of  a  band  of  half- 
armed  rustics.  Victory  itself  will  now  be  attended 
with  mortification  enough,  after  such  severe  repulses 
and  such  terrible  losses. 

From  the  other  side  of  the  river  General  Clinton  has 
seen  the  discomfiture,  and,  bringing  some  reinforcements, 
comes  to  aid  him  in  rallying  his  men.  Howe  has  seen, 
too,  what  Clinton  has  also  observed,  the  error  of  the 
former  disposition  of  his  force,  and  that  the  weak  point 
of  the  American  line  is  between  the  breastwork  and  the 
rail-fence.  Toward  this  and  against  the  redoubt  and 
breastwork  he  now  arranges  his  next  attack.  Cannon 
are  brought  to  bear  so  as  to  rake  the  inside  of  the 
breastwork;  and,  making  a  demonstration  only  against 


104  CENTEISTOTAL,   AISTNTVERSARY   OF   THE 

the  rail-fence  that  may  check  any  movement  upon  the 
flank  of  his  troops,  he  divides  them  in  three  columns. 

The  two  at  the  left  are  commanded  respectively  by 
Clinton  and  Pigot,  while  the  right  he  leads  in  person. 
They  are  to  assault  together,  Clinton  upon  the  left,  at 
the  south-eastern  angle,  and  Pigot,  upon  the  eastern 
front  of  the  redoubt,  while  Howe's  own  force  is  to  carry 
the  breastwork,  and,  striking  between  it  and  the  rail- 
fence,  bar  the  way  of  retreat.  Against  this  formidable 
array  no  other  preparation  could  be  made  by  Prescott 
than  to  place  at  the  angles  of  his  redoubt  the  few 
bayonets  at  his  disposal,  and  to  direct  that  no  man 
should  fire  until  the  enemy  were  within  twenty  yards. 

The  fire  of  the  British  artillery,  now  rendered 
effective,  sweeps  the  inside  of  the  breastwork,  and,  no 
longer  tenable,  its  defenders  crowd  within  the  redoubt. 
Again  the  voice  of  Prescott  is  heard,  as  the  attacking 
columns  approach  and  are  now  only  twenty  yards 
distant,  giving  the  order  to  fire.  So  telling  and  deadly 
is  the  discharge  that  the  front  ranks  are  almost 
prostrated  by  it;  but,  as  the  fire  slackens,  the  British 
columns,  which  have  wavered  for  an  instant,  move 
steadily  on  without  returning  it.  Almost  simultaneously 
upon  the  three  points  which  are  exposed  to  the  assault 
the  enemy  reach  the  little  earthwork  which  so  much 
brave  blood  has  been  spent  to  hold  and  to  gain;  and, 
while  they  are  now  so  near  that  its  sides  already  cover 
them,  its  commander,  determined  to  maintain  it  to  the 
last  extremity,  orders  those  of  his  men  who  have  no 
bayonets  to  retire  to  the  rear  and  fire  upon  the  enemy 
as  they  mount  the  parapet. 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER    HILL.  105 


Those  who  first  ascend  are  shot  down  as  they  scale 
the  works,  among  them  Pitcairn,  whose  rashness  (even 
if  we  give  him  the  benefit  of  the  denial  he  Always  made 
of  having  ordered  his  soldiers  to  fire  at  Lexington)  still 
renders  him  responsible  for  the  first  shedding  of  blood  in 
the  strife.  In  a  few  moments,  however,  the  redoubt  is 
half  filled  by  the  storming  columns;  and,  although  a 
fierce  conflict  ensues,  it  is  too  unequal  for  hope,  and 
shows  only  the  courage  which  animates  the  men,  who, 
without  bayonets,  use  the  butts  of  their  muskets  in  the 
fierce  effort  to  stay  the  now  successful  assault.  As  the 
enemy  are  closing  about  the  redoubt,  if  the  force  is  to 
be  extricated  from  capture,  the  word  to  retreat  must  be 
given,  and  reluctantly  the  brave  lips,  which  have  spoken 
only  the  words  of  cheer  and  encouragement,  utter  it  at 
last.  Already  some  are  so  involved  that  they  hew  their 
way  through  the  enemy  to  join  Prescott,  and  he  himself 
is  again  and  again  struck  at  by  the  bayonet,  of  which  his 
clothes  give  full  proof  afterward,  but  defends  himself 
with  his  sword,  the  use  of  which  he  understands.  As 
our  forces  leave  the  redoubt  by  the  entrance  on  the 
northern  side,  they  come  between  the  two  columns  which 
have  turned  the  breastwork,  and  the  south-eastern  angle 
of  the  redoubt.  These  are,  however,  too  much  ex- 
hausted to  use  the  bayonet  effectually,  and  all  are  so 
mingled  together  that  for  a  few  moments  the  British 
cannot  fire;  but  as  our  men  extricate  themselves  the 
British  re-form,  and  deliver  a  heavy  fire  upon  them  as 
they  retreat. 

In  the  mean  tune  the  attack  has  been  renewed  upon 
the  rail-fence,  but  its  defenders  know  well  that,  if  they 


106  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

would  save  their  countrymen  at  the  redoubt,  they  must 
hold  it  resolutely  for  a  few  moments  longer,  and  they 
defend  it  nobly,  resisting  every  attempt  to  turn  the 
flank.  They  see  soon  that  Prescott  has  left  the  hill, 
that  the  intrenchments  are  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy 
at  last;  and,  their  own  work  gallantly  done,  they 
retreat  in  better  order  than  could  have  been  expected 
of  troops  who  had  so  little  organization,  and  who 
looked  for  the  first  time  on  a  battle-field.  Upon  the 
crest  of  Bunker  Hill  (properly  so  called)  General  Put- 
nam, with  the  confused  forces  already  there,  gallantly 
struggles  to  organize  a  line  and  make  a  new  stand, 
but  without  success.  Our  forces  recross  the  Neck  and 
occupy  Ploughed  Hill,  now  Mount  Benedict,  at  its  head; 
but  there  is  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  British  to 
pursue,  for  the  terrible  slaughter  too  well  attests  the 
price  at  which  the  nominal  victory  has  been  obtained. 

The  loss  of  the  British,  according  to  General  Gage's 
account,  was  in  killed  and  wounded  ten  hundred  and 
fifty-four,  and  it  was  generally  believed  that  this  was 
understated  by  him.  There  was  inducement  enough 
to  do  this;  for  so  disastrous  was  his  despatch  felt  to 
be  that  the  government  hesitated  to  give  it  to  the 
public,  until  forced  to  do  so  by  the  taunts  of  those 
who  had  opposed  the  war,  and  the  method  by  which 
it  had  been  provoked. 

Sir  William  Howe  seemed  to  have  borne  that  day  a 
charmed  life;  for,  while  ten  officers  of  his  staff  .were 
among  the  killed  and  wounded,  he  had  escaped  sub- 
stantially uninjured.  His  white  silk  stockings,  draggled 
with  the  crimson  stain  of  the  grass,  wet  with  the  blood 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  107 

of  his  men,  attested  that  he  had  kept  the  promise  made 
to  them  on  the  beach,  that  he  should  ask  no  man  to  go 
further  than  he  was  prepared  to  lead. 

On  the  American  side  the  loss,  as  reported  by  the 
Committee  of  Safety,  was  in  Mlled  and  wounded  four 
hundred  and  forty-nine, — by  far  the  larger  part  of  these 
casualties  occurring  in  the  capture  of  the  redoubt,  and 
after  the  retreat  commenced.  x  Prescott,  who,  in  the 
hours  that  had  passed  since  he  left  Cambridge,  had 
done  for  the  independence  of  his  country  work  that 
the  greatest  might  well  be  satisfied  with  doing  in  a 
lifetime,  was  unhurt;  but  as  the  retreat  commenced 
Warren  had  fallen,  than  whom  no  man  in  America 
could  have  been  more  deeply  deplored. 

Massachusetts  in  her  Congress,  and  the  citizens  of 
all  the  colonies,  united  in  doing  honor  to  his  heroic 
self-sacrifice,  and  pure,  noble  fame;  but  no  eulogy  was 
more  graceful  than  that  of  Mrs.  John  Adams,  herself 
one  of  the  most  interesting  figures  of  the  Revolution, 
or  more  touching  than  that  of  the  warm-hearted  Pome- 
roy,  who  lamented  the  caprice  of  that  fortune  which  had 
spared  him  in  the  day  of  battle,  an  old  war-worn  soldier 
whose  work  was  nearly  done,  and  taken  Warren  in  the 
brightness  of  his  youth,  and  with  his  vast  capacity  to 
serve  his  country.  Yet  for  him  who  shall  say  it  was 
not  well ;  there  are  many  things  in  life  dearer  than  life 
itself:  honor  in  its  true  and  noble  sense,  patriotism, 
duty,  all  are  dearer:  to  all  these  he  had  been  faithful. 
His  position  is  forever  among  the  heroes  and  martyrs 
of  liberty,  —  his  reward  forever  in  the  affection  of  a 
grateful  people.  As  the  dead  always  bear  to  us  the 


108  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

image  which  they  last  bore  when  on  earth,  and  as  by 
the  subtle  power  of  the  imagination  we  summon  before 
us  the  brave  who  stood  here  for  their  country,  that  noble 
presence,  majestic  in  its  manly  beauty,  seems  to  rise 
again,  although  a  hundred  years  are  gone,  with  all  the 
fire  of  his  burning  eloquence,  with  all  the  ardor  of  his 
patriotic  enthusiasm,  with  all  the  loftiness  of  his  gen- 
erous self-devotion.  SQ  shall  it  seem  to  rise,  although 
centuries  more  shall  pass,  to  inspire  his  countrymen  in 
every  hour  of  doubt  and  trial  with  a  valor  and  patriotism 
kindred  to  his  own. 

The  story  I  have  told,  fellow-citizens,  has  been  often 
related  before  you  far  more  vividly;  nor  has  it  been  in 
my  power  to  add  anything  to  the  facts  which  patient 
and  loving  investigation  has  long  since  brought  to  light. 
Tested  by  the  simple  rule  that  whoever  holds  or  gains 
the  ground  fought  for  wins  the  victory,  the  battle  was, 
of  course,  at  its  close,  a  defeat  for  the  provincial  forces ; 
but  it  was  a  defeat  that  carried  and  deserved  to  carry 
with  it  all  the  moral  consequences  of  a  victory.  As 
General  Burgoyne  gazed  from  .Copp's  Hill  on  the  scene 
which  he  so  graphically  describes  in  a  letter  to  Lord 
Stanley,  he  was  saddened,  he  says,  "  by  the  reflection 
that  a  defeat  would  be  perhaps  the  loss  of  the  British 
empire  in'  America; "  but,  although  in  his  eyes  a 
victory,  it  was  one  which  equally  marked  the  loss  of 
that  empire. 

The  lesson  drawn  from  it  was  the  same  both  in 
Europe  and  America.  "England,"  wrote  Franklin, 
"  has  lost  her  colonies  forever ;  "  and  Washington,  as 
he  listened  with  intense  interest  to  the  narrative,  and 


BATTLE    OP   BUNKER   HILL.  109 

heard  that  the  troops  he  was  coming  to  command  had 
not  only  withstood  the  fire  of  the  regulars,  but  had 
again  and  again  repulsed  them,  renew'ed  his  expressions 
of  confidence  in  final  victory. 

In  England  the  news  was  received  with  mortification 
and  astonishment;  no  loss  in  proportion  to  the  number 
engaged  had  ever  been  known  so  serious;  and  in  the 
excited  debates  of  the  Parliament  it  was  afterwards 
alleged  to  have  been  caused  by  the  misbehavior  of  the 
troops  themselves.  The  charge  was  certainly  unjust ; 
for,  whatever  may  be  thought  of  his  own  management, 
the  troops  he  had  directed  deserved  the  praise  that 
General  Gage  gave  them  when  he  said,  "  British  valor 
had  never  been  more  conspicuous  than  in  this  action." 
From  his  eyes  the  scales  seemed  to  have  fallen  at  last; 
and  closely  beleaguered  still,  even  after  the  victory  he 
claimed,  he  acknowledged  that  the  people  of  New 
England  were  not  "  the  despicable  rabble  they  had 
sometimes  been  represented,"  and  recognized  that  an 
offensive  campaign  here  was  not  possible. 

The  shrewd  Count  Vergennes,  who,  in  the  hour  of 
the  humiliation  of  France  by  the  loss  of  her  colonial 
possessions,  had  predicted  that  she  would  be  avenged 
by  those  whose  hands  had  largely  wrought  it,  and  that 
as  the  colonies  no  longer  needed  the  protection  of  Great 
Britain  they  would  end  by  shaking  off  all  dependence 
upon  her,  was  now  the  French  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  keenly  remarked  that  "  if  it  won  two  more 
such  victories  as  it  had  won  at  Bunker  Hill,  there 
would  be  no  British  army  in  America." 

The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  had  consolidated  the  Rev- 


110  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

olution.  Had  the  result  been  different;  had  it  been 
shown  that  the  hasty,  ill-disciplined  levies  of  New 
England  could  not  stand  before  the  troops  of  the  king 
(or  the  ministerial  troops,  as  our  official  documents 
called  them) ;  had  the  easy  victory  over  them,  which 
had  been  foolishly  promised,  been  weakly  conceded, 
—  the  cause  of  independence  might  have  been  indefi- 
nitely postponed.  Nay,  it  is  not  impossible  that 
armed  resistance  might  for  the  time  have  ended,  and 
that  other  colonies  not  so  deeply  involved  in  the  con- 
test might  have  extricated  themselves,  each  making 
such  terms  as  it  pleased  or  as  it  could.  But  the  cool- 
ness and  splendid  valor  with  which  the  best  troops 
then  known  had  been  met,  the  repulses  which  they 
had  again  and  again  encountered,  the  bloody  and 
fearful  cost  at  which  they  had  finally  carried  the 
coveted  point,  that  their  opponents  had  yielded  only 
when  ammunition  utterly  failed  —  had  shown  that  the 
yeomanry  of  New  England  were  the  true  descendants 
of  that  race  who,  on  the  battle-fields  of  England,  had 
stood  against  and  triumphed  over  King  Charles  and 
his  cavaliers.  "  New  England  alone,"  said  John 
Adams,  "  can  maintain  this  war  for  years."  He  was 
right;  the  divisions  that  existed  elsewhere  were  prac- 
tically unknown  here;  no  matter  what  colonies  hesi- 
tated or  doubted,  her  path  was  straightforward,  and 
her  goal  was  independence.  While  her  colonies 
deferred  to  the  Continental  Congress  the  form  of 
government  they  should  adopt,  each  had  taken  into 
its  own  hands  all  the  powers  that  rightfully  belong  to 
sovereign  States,  and  exercised  them  through  its 


BATTLE    OF   B DICKER  HILL.  Ill 

provincial  Congress  and  its  committees.  Heartily 
desiring  and  eagerly  looking  forward  to  a  union  of 
the  colonies,  she  had  settled  that  in  her  local  affairs 
she  was  competent  to  govern  herself:  this  she  had 
maintained  that  day  in  arms,  and  her  period  of 
vassalage  was  over. 

Willingly  would  I  pursue  the  theme  further;  but  the 
limits  which  custom  prescribes  for  an  address  of  this 
nature  are  too  narrow  to  permit  this.  You  know  well 
the  years  of  doubt,  anxiety,  and  struggle  that  succeeded; 
but  before  we  part  something  should  be  said  of  those 
that  have  passed  since  their  triumphant  close. 

I  have  forborne  to  speak  of  the  causes  which  led  to 
the  American  Revolution.  They  have  recently  been 
so  carefully  and  ably  analyzed  by  the  distinguished 
orators  who  aided  in  the  celebrations  at  Concord  and 
Lexington,  that  I  have  preferred  to  devote  a  few 
moments  to  a  consideration  of  some  of  its  effects,  by 
which  the  propriety  and  wisdom  of  such  a  movement 
in  human  affairs  must  always  be  eventually  tested. 

That  the  formation  and  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  has  been  to  us,  since  our  inde- 
pendence was  finally  achieved,  the  great  event  of  the 
century,  must  be  universally  conceded.  It  was  the 
great  good  fortune  and  the  crowning  triumph  of  the 
statesmen  who  guided  us  through  the  Revolution,  that 
they  lived  long  enough  to  embody  its  results  in  a 
permanent  and  durable  form;  for  it  is  harder  to  secure 
the  fruits  of  a  victory  than  to  win  the  victory  itself. 
Many  a  day  of  triumph  upon  the  field  has  been  but  a 
day  of  carnage  and  of  empty  glory,  barren  in  all  that 


112  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

was  valuable;  and  the  victories  that  have  been  won 
upon  the  political  field  are  no  exceptions  to  the  rule, 
with  which  history  teems  with  illustrations. 

Our  ancient  ally,  whose  services  during  the  last 
years  of  Our  war  were  of  so  much  value  to  our  ex- 
hausted treasury  and  armies,  and  whose  gift  of  the 
generous  and  chivalric  Lafayette  at  its  opening  was 
almost  equally  precious,  passed  a  few  years  later  than 
we  through  its  own  desperate  struggle;  yet,  although 
that  fierce  tide  swept  in  a  sea  of  fire  and  blood  over  all 
the  ancient  institutions  of  the  monarchy,  how  impossi- 
ble it  has  proved  to  this  day  for  France  to  supply  the 
place  of  the  government  which  it  so  sternly  overthrew 
with  one  thoroughly  permanent,  giving  peace  and 
security!  Republic,  Directory,  Consulate,  Empire, 
Kingdom,  have  had  their  turn;  dynasty  after  dynasty, 
faction  after  faction,  have  asserted  their  sway  over 
her. 

For  a  government  under  the  constitutions  of  the 
several  States,  and  under  that  of  the  United  States,  this 
people  was  prepared  alike  by  its  previous  history,  and 
by  that  which  followed  its  separation  from  Britain.  It 
was  the  legitimate  outgrowth  of  experience,  and  not  a 
government  framed,  like  those  of  the  Abbe  Sieyes  at 
the  end  of  their  revolution  for  the  French,  by  the  aid 
of  philosophic  speculation,  and  on  the  basis  of  that 
which  should  be,  and  not  of  that  which  was.  While 
the  colonies,  by  means  of  their  representative  and  leg- 
islative systems,  had  been  accustomed  to  deal  with 
their  local  affairs,  and  impose  their  local  taxation,  and 
had  successfully  resisted  the  attempt  to  interfere  with 


BATTLE    OP   BTHSTKER    HILL.  113 

these  rights,  yet,  from  the  relation  they  had  also  been 
accustomed  to  sustain  toward  Britain,  it  was  not  to 
them  a  novel  idea  that  two  governments,  each  com- 
plete and  supreme  within  its  sphere,  might  coexist,  the 
one  controlling  the  local  affairs  of  each  individual 
State,  while  the  other  exercised  its  powers  over  all  in 
their  intercourse  with  each  other  and  with  foreign 
nations. 

Painfully  conscious  of  their  weakness,  the  desire  for 
a  union  of  all  had  gone  hand  in  hand  with  the  desire  of 
each  to  preserve  its  own  separate  organization.  The 
first  Continental  Congress  had  not  exercised  political 
authority;  it  had  assembled  only  on  behalf  of  the 
United  Colonies  to  petition  and  remonstrate  against  the 
various  arbitrary  acts  of  the  British  government. 
Those  which  followed,  however,  with  patriotic  courage 
had  boldly  seized  the  highest  powers;  yet,  as  they 
could  exercise  such  powers  only  so  far  as  each  State 
gave  its  assent  and  sustained  them,  the  necessary 
result  followed  that  their  decrees  were  often  but  feebly 
executed,  and  sometimes  utterly  disregarded.  Later 
in  the  war  the  Confederation  had  followed,  by  which  it 
had  been  sought  to  fix  more  definitely  the  relation  of 
the  States  by  giving  more  determinate  authority  to  the 
Congress,  and  to  rescue  the  country  from  the  financial 
ruin  which  had  overtaken  it. 

But  the  powers  of  the  Congress  of  the  Confedera- 
tion, like  those  of  the  Continental  Congress,  were  such 
as  were  consistent  only  with  a  league  of  sovereign  and 
independent  States,  and  were  in  their  exercise  less 
efficacious,  because  they  had  been  carefully  defined  and 

15 


114  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVEKSARY   OF   THE 

limited.  The  Confederation  did  not  constitute  a  gov- 
ernment; it  did  not  assume  to  act  upon  the  people,  but 
upon  the  several  States;  and  upon  them  no  means 
existed  of  enforcing  its  requisitions  and  decrees,  or  of 
compelling  them  to  the  performance  of  the  treaties  it 
might  make,  or  the  obligations  it  might  incur.  Among 
allied  powers,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  there  is  no 
mode  of  enforcing  the  agreement  of  alliance  except  by 
war. 

The  great  work  of  achieving  independence  had,  how- 
ever, been  completed  by  the  Confederation  in  ^pite  of 
all  its  weakness  and  inherent  defects.  These  were, 
however,  more  clearly  seen  when  the  sense  of  an  imme- 
diate and  common  danger,  and  the  cohesive  pressure  of 
war,  were  withdrawn.  A  mere  aggregation  of  States 
could  not  take  its  place  among  the  peoples  of  the  world. 
A  national  sovereignty  was  needed,  capable  of  establish- 
ing a  financial  system  of  its  own,  of  raising  money  for 
its  own  support  by  taxation  or  regulations  of  trade,  of 
forming  treaties  with  sufficient  power  to  execute  them, 
of  insuring  order  in  every  State,  of  bringing  each  State 
into  proper  relations  with  the  others,  and  able,  if  need 
be,  to  declare  war  or  maintain  peace,  —  a  sovereignty 
which  should  act  directly  on  the  people  themselves  in 
the  exercise  of  all  its  rightful  powers,  and  not  through 
the  intervention  of  the  States. 

The  years  of  unexampled  depression  which  followed 
peace  with  Britain  were  not  attributable  only  to  the 
exhaustion  of  war:  the  impossibility  of  establishing  a 
financial  or  a  commercial  system,  the  sense  of  insecurity 
that  prevailed,  paralyzed  industry  and  enterprise.  Al- 


BATTLE   OP   BUNKER   HILL.  115 

ready  jarrings  and  contests  between  the  several  States 
presaged  the  danger  which  had  destroyed  the  republics 
of  Greece  and  those  of  Italy  during  the  Middle  Ages; 
already  civil  discord,  which,  although  suppressed,  had 
thrown  the  State  temporarily  into  confusion,  had  made 
its  appearance  in  Massachusetts;  already  doubts  began 
to  be  expressed,  even  by  some  who  had  been  ardent  in 
the  patriot  cause,  whether  they  had  been  wise  to  separate 
from  a  government  which,  even  if  monarchical,  was 
strong  and  able  to  defend  and  protect  its  subjects;  and 
it  had  come  to  be  realized  that  there  must  be  somewhere 
a  controlling  power  competent  to  maintain  peace  between 
the  States,  and  to  guarantee  to  each  the  security  of  its 
own  government. 

The  Convention  which  met  at  Philadelphia  in  1787 
gave  these  States  a  government,  and  made  them  a  na- 
tion; and  while  I  know  to  that  which  is  impersonal 
there  is  wanting  much  of  the  ardor  that  personal  loy- 
alty inspires,  yet,  so  far  as  there  may  be  warmth  in  the 
devotion  we  cherish  for  an  institution,  it  should  awaken 
at  the  mention  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
The  noble  preamble  declares  by  whom  it  is  made,  and 
defines  its  purposes:  "We,  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish 
justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the 
common  defence,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  se- 
cure the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  pos- 
terity, do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the 
United  States  of  America."  In  the  largest  measure  it 
has  fulfilled  these  objects;  and  the  judgment  and  far- 
seeing  wisdom  with  which  its  founders  met  the  difficul- 


116  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

ties  before  them  more  and  more  challenge  our  admira- 
tion as  the  years  advance  and  the  republic  extends. 

Formed  by  men  who  differed  widely  in  their  views,  — 
some  who  clung  resolutely  still  to  the  idea  that  it  was 
dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  States  to  constitute  an 
efficient  central  power,  and  others  who,  like  Hamilton, 
preferred  a  consolidated  government  whose  model  should 
be  the  British  Constitution,  —  it  might  easily  have  been 
that  a  government  so  framed  should  have  been  a  patch- 
work of  incongruities,  whose  discordant  and  irrecon- 
cilable provisions  would  have  revealed  alternately  the 
influence  of  either  opinion.  Yet,  differing  although 
they  did,  they  were  statesmen  still ;  and,  educated  in  the 
rough  school  of  adversity  and  trial,  they  realized  that  a 
government  must  be  constructed  capable  alike  of  daily 
efficient  practical  operation,  and  of  adapting  itself  to 
the  constantly  varying  exigencies  in  which  sovereign 
States  must  act.  How  doubtful  they  were  of  their  suc- 
cess, how  nobly  they  succeeded  in  the  government  they 
made,  to-day  we  know. 

We  have  seen  its  vast  capacity  for  expansion  as  it 
has  received  under  the  shield,  on  which  are  emblazoned 
the  arms  of  the  Union,  State  after  State,  as  it  has  arisen 
in  what  was  on  the  day  of  its  formation  the  untrodden 
wilderness,  and  advanced  to  the  blessings  of  liberty  and 
civilization;  we  have  recognized  the  flexibility  it  pos- 
sesses in  leaving  to  States  materially  differing  in  local 
characteristics  and  interests  the  control  and  manage- 
ment of  their  immediate  affairs ;  and  we  have  known  its 
capacity  to  vindicate  itself  in  the  wildest  storm  of  civil 
commotion. 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER  HILL.  117 

Let  us  guard  this  Union  well;  for  as  upon  it  all  that 
is  glorious  in  the  j>ast  is  resting,  so  upon  it  all  our  hopes 
of  the  future  are  founded.  Let  us  demand,  of  those  who 
are  to  administer  its  great  powers,  purity,  disinterested- 
ness, devotion  to  well-settled,  carefully  considered  prin- 
ciples and  convictions.  Let  us  cherish  the  homely  but 
manly  virtues  of  the  men  who  for  it  met  the  storm  of 
war  in  behalf  of  a  government  and  a  country ;  their  sim- 
ple faith  in  what  was  just  and  right,  that  found  its  root 
in  their  unswerving  belief  in  something  higher  than 
mere  human  guidance.  Let  us  encourage  that  univer- 
sal education,  that  diffusion  of  knowledge,  which  every- 
where oppose  themselves  as  barriers,  steadily  and  firmly, 
alike  to  plunder  and  fraud,  to  disorder  and  turbulence. 
Above  all,  let  us  strive  to  maintain  and  renew  the  fra- 
ternal feeling  which  should  exist  between  all  the  States 
of  the  Union. 

We  will  not  pretend  that  the  trial  through  which  we 
have  passed  has  faded  either  from  our  hearts  or  memo- 
ries ;  yet  no  one  will,  I  trust,  believe  that  I  would  rudely 
rake  open  the  smouldering  embers  that  all  would  gladly 
wish  to  see  extinguished  forever,  or  that,  deeply  as  I 
feel  our  great  and  solemn  obligations  to  those  who  pre- 
served and  defended  the  Union,  I  would  speak  one  word 
except  with  respect  and  in  kindness  even  to  those  who 
assailed  it,  yet  who  have  now  submitted  to  its  power. 

In  the  Union  two  classes  of  States  had  their  place 
differing  radically  in  this,  that  in  the  one  the  system  01 
slavery  existed.  It  was  a  difficulty  which  the  fathers 
could  not  eliminate  from  the  problem  before  them.  They 
dealt  with  it  with  all  the  wisdom  and  foresight  they 


118  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVEKSARY   OF   THE 

possessed.  Strongly  impressed  in  their  belief  of  the 
equal  rights  of  man,  —  for  their  discussions  had  com- 
pelled them  to  deal  with  fundamental  principles,  —  they 
were  not  so  destitute  of  philosophy  that  they  did  not  see 
that  what  they  demanded  for  themselves  should  be  ac- 
corded to  others ;  and,  believing  that  the  ^  whole  system 
would  fade  before  the  noble  influence  of  free  government 
as  a  dark  cloud  melts  and  drifts  away,  they  watched, 
and  with  jealous  care,  that  when  that  day  came  the 
instrument  they  signed  should  bear  no  trace  of  its 
existence.  It  was  not  thus  to  be,  and  the  system  has 
passed  away  in  the  tempest  of  battle  and  amid  the  clang 
of  arms. 

The  conflict  is  over,  the  race  long  subject  is  restored 
to  liberty,  and  the  nation  has  had  "  under  God  a  new 
birth  of  freedom."  JSTo  executions,  no  harsh  punish- 
ments, have  sullied  the  conclusion;  day  by  day  the 
material  evidences  of  war  fade  from  our  sight,  the 
bastions  sink  to  the  level  of  the  ground  which  sur- 
rounded them,  scarp  and  counter-scarp  meet  in  the  ditch 
which  divided  them.  So  let  them  pass  away  forever. 
The  contest  is  marked  distinctly  only  by  the  changes  in 
the  organic  laws  of  the  Constitution,  which  embody 
in  more  definite  forms  the  immortal  truths  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  That  these  include  more 
than  its  logical  and  necessary  results  cannot  fairly  be 
contended.  Did  I  believe  that  they  embraced  more  than 
these,  did  I  find  in  that  great  instrument  any  changes 
which  should  place  or  seek  to  place  one  State  above 
another,  or  above  another  class  of  States,  so  as  to  mark 
a  victory  of  sections  or  localities,  I  could  not  rejoice,  for 


BATTLE    OF   BUISTKER   HILL.  119 

I  should  know  that  we  had  planted  the  seeds  of 
"  unnumbered  woes." 

To-day  it  is  the  highest  duty  of  all,  no  matter  on 
what  side  they  were,  but,  above  all,  of  those  who  have 
struggled  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  to  strive 
that  it  become  one  of  generous  confidence,  in  which  all 
the  States  shall,  as  of  old,  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder,  if 
need  be,  against  the  world  in  arms.  Toward  those  with 
whom  we  were  lately  in  conflict,  and  who  recognize  that 
the  results  are  to  be  kept  inviolate,  there  should  be  no 
feeling  of  resentment  or  bitterness.  To  the  necessity  of 
events  they  have  submitted;  to  the  changes  in  the 
Constitution  they  have  assented;  we  cannot  and  we  do 
not  think  so  basely  or  so  meanly  of  them  as  to  believe 
that  they  have  done  so  except  generously  and  without 
mental  reservation. 

We  know  that  it  is  not  easy  to  readjust  all  the  rela- 
tions of  society  when  one  form  is  suddenly  swept  away; 
that  the  sword  does  its  work  rudely,  and  not  with  that 
gradual  preparation  which  attends  the  changes  of  peace. 
We  realize  that  there  are  difficulties  and  distrusts  not  to 
be  removed  at  once  between  those  who  have  been  mas- 
ters and  slaves;  yet  there  are  none  which  will  not  ulti- 
mately disappear.  All  true  men  are  with  the  South  in 
demanding  for  her  peace,  order,  honest  and  good  gov- 
ernment, and  encouraging  her  in  the  work  of  rebuilding 
all  that  has  been  made  desolate.  We  need  not  doubt 
the  issue ;  she  will  not  stand  as  the  "  ]S"iobe  of  nations," 
lamenting  her  sad  fate;  she  will  not  look  back  to 
deplore  a  past  which  cannot  and  should  not  return;  but 
with  the  fire  of  her  ancient  courage  she  will  gird  her- 


120  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

self  up  to  the  emergencies  of  her  new  situation,  she  will 
unite  her  people  by  the  bonds  of  that  mutual  confidence 
which  their  mutual  interests  demand,  and  renew  her 
former  prosperity  and  her  rightful  influence  in  the 
Union. 

Fellow-citizens,  we  stand  to-day  on  a  great  battle-field 
in  honor  of  the  patriotism  and  valor  of  those  who  fought 
upon  it.  It  is  the  step  which  they  made  in  the  world's 
history  we  would  seek  to  commemorate ;  it  is  the  exam- 
ple which  they  have  offered  us  we  would  seek  to  imi- 
tate. The  wise  and  thoughtful  men  who  directed  this 
controversy  knew  well  that  it  is  by  the  wars  personal 
ambition  has  stimulated,  by  the  armies  whose  force  has 
been  wielded  alike  for  domestic  oppression  or  foreign 
conquest,  that  the  sway  of  despots  has  been  so  widely 
maintained.  They  had  no  love  for  war  or  any  of  its 
works,  but  they  were  ready  to  meet  its  dangers  in  their 
attachment  to  the  cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 
They  desired  to  found  no  Roman  republic,  "  whose  ban- 
ners, fanned  by  conquest's  crimson  wing,"  should  float 
victorious  over  prostrate  nations,  but  one  where  the 
serene  beauty  of  the  arts  of  peace  should  put  to  shame 
the  strifes  that  have  impoverished  peoples  and  degraded 
nations.  To-day  let  us  rejoice  in  the  liberty  which  they 
have  gained  for  us;  but  let  no  utterances  but  those  of 
peace  salute  our  ears,  no  thoughts  but  those  of  peace 
animate  our  hearts. 

Above  the  plains  of  Marathon,  even  now,  as  the  Gre- 
cian shepherd  watches  over  his  flocks,  he  fancies  that 
the  skies  sometimes  are  filled  with  lurid  light,  and  that 
in  the  clouds  above  are  re-enacted  the  scenes  of  that 


BATTLE    OF   BUISTKER   HILL.  121 

great  day  when,  on  the  field  below,  Greece  maintained 
her  freedom  against  the  hordes  who  had  assailed  her. 
Again  seem  to  come  in  long  array,  "  rich  with  barbaric 
pearl  and  gold,"  the  turbaned  ranks  of  the  Persian  host, 
and  the  air  is  filled  with  the  clang  of  sword  and  shield, 
as  again  the  fiery  Greek  seems  to  throw  himself  upon 
and  drive  before  him  his  foreign  invader;  shadows 
although  all  are  that  flit  in  wild,  confused  masses  along 
the  spectral  sky. 

Above  the  field  where  we  stand,  even  in  the  wildest 
dream,  may  no  such  scenes  offend  the  calmness  of  the 
upper  air,  but  may  the  stars  look  forever  down  upon 
prosperity  and  peace,  upon  the  bay  studded  with  its 
white-winged  ships,  upon  the  populous  and  far  extend- 
ing city,  with  its  marts  of  commerce,  its  palaces  of 
industry,  its  temples,  where  each  man  may  worship 
according  to  his  own  conscience;  and,  as  the  continent 
shall  pass  beneath  their  steady  rays,  may  the  millions  of 
happy  homes  attest  a  land  where  the  benign  influence 
of  free  government  has  brought  happiness  and  content- 
ment, where  labor  is  rewarded,  where  manhood  is  hon- 
ored, and  where  virtue  and  religion  are  revered ! 

Peace  forever  with  the  great  country  from  which  the 
day  we  commemorate  did  so  much  rudely  to  dissever  us ! 
If  there  were  in  that  time,  or  if  there  have  been  since, 
many  things  which  we  could  have  wished  otherwise,  we 
can  easily  afford  to  let  them  pass  into  oblivion.  But  we 
do  not  forget  in  the  struggle  of  the  Revolution  how 
many  of  her  statesmen  stood  forth  to  assert  the  justice 
of  our  cause,  and  to  demand  for  us  the  rights  of  which 
we  had  been  deprived  until  the  celebrated  address  was 

16 


122  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY  OF   THE 

passed  which  declared  that  the  House  of  Commons 
would  consider  as  enemies  to  the  king  and  country  all 
those  who  would  further  attempt  the  prosecution  of  a 
war  on  the  continent  of  America  for  the  purpose  of 
reducing  the  American  colonies  to  obedience. 

From  her  we  have  drawn  the  great  body  of  laws 
which,  modified  and  adapted  to  our  different  situation, 
protect  us  to-day  in  our  property,  its  descent,  possession, 
and  transmission,  and  which  guard  our  dearer  personal 
rights  by  the  habeas  corpus  and  the  trial  by  jury.  They 
were  our  countrymen  who  from  the  days  of  King  John 
to  those  of  George  III.  have  made  of  her  a  land  in 
which  "freedom  has  broadened  slowly  down  from 
precedent  to  precedent." 

It  was  she  that  -had  placed  her  foot  upon  the  "  divine 
right  of  kings,"  and  solemnly  maintained  that  govern- 
ments exist  only  by  consent  of  the  governed,  when,  in 
1688,  she  changed  the  succession  to  the  British  crown, 
and  caused  her  rulers  to  reign  thereafter  by  a  statute  of 
Parliament. 

From  her  we  learned  the  great  lessons  of  con- 
stitutional liberty  which  as  against  her  we  resolutely 
asserted.  There  was  no  colony  of  any  other  kingdom 
of  Europe  that  would  have  dreamed  of  demanding  as 
rights  those  things  which  our  fathers  deemed  their 
inheritance  as  Englishmen,  none  that  would  not  have 
yielded  unhesitatingly  to  any  injunction  of  the  parent 
State.  Whatever  differences  have  been  or  may  here- 
after come,  let  us  remember  still  that  we  are  the  only 
two  great  distinctly  settled  free  governments,  and  that 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  123 

the  noble  English  tongue  in  which  we  speak  alike  is 
"  the  language  of  freemen  throughout  the  world." 

Above  all,  may  there  be  peace  forever  among  the 
States  of  this  Union!  "The  blood  spilt  here,"  said 
Washington  upon  the  place  where  we  stand,  "  roused 
the  whole  American  people,  and  united  them  in  defence 
of  their  rights, — that  Union  will  never  be  broken." 
Prophecies  may  be  made  to  work  their  own  fulfilment ; 
and,  whatever  may  have  been  our  trials  and  our  difficul- 
ties, let  us  spare  no  efforts  that  this  shall  be  realized. 
Achieving  our  independence  by  a  common  struggle, 
endowed  to-day  with  common  institutions,  we  see  even 
more  clearly  than  before  that  the  States  of  this  Union 
have  before  them  a  common  destiny. 

We  have  commenced  here  in  Massachusetts  the  cele- 
bration of  that  series  of  events  which  made  of  us  a 
nation ;  and  let  each,  as  it  approaches  in  the  centennial 
cycle,  serve  to  kindle  anew  the  fires  of  patriotism.  Let 
us  meet  on  the  fields  where  our  fathers  fought,  and 
where  they  lie,  whether  they  fell  with  the  stern  joy  of 
victory  irradiating  their  countenances,  or  in  the  gloomy 
hours  of  disaster  and  defeat.  Alike  in  remembrance  of 
Saratoga  and  Yorktown,  and  of  the  dreary  winter  of 
Valley  Forge,  at  Trenton  and  Princeton,  and  at  the 
spots  immortalized  in  the  bloody  campaign  of  the  Jer- 
seys, at  King's  Mountain  and  Charleston,  at  Camden 
and  Guilford  Court  House,  and  along  the  track  of  the 
steadily  fighting,  slowly  retreating  Greene  through  the 
Carolinas. 

Above  all,  at  the  city  from  which  went  forth  the 
Declaration  that  we  were,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  a 


124  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

free  and  independent  nation,  let  us  gather,  and,  by  the 
sacred  memories  of  the  great  departed,  pledge  ourselves 
to  transmit  untarnished  the  heritage  they  have  left  us. 

The  soldiers  of  the  Revolution  are  gone,  the  states- 
men who  embodied  their  work. in  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  have  passed  away.  With  them,  too,  sleep 
those  who  in  the  earlier  days  watched  the  development 
of  this  wondrous  frame  of  government. 

The  mighty  master  of  thought  and  speech,  by  whose 
voice  fifty  years  ago  was  dedicated  the  Monument  at 
whose  base  we  stand,  and  whose  noble  argument  that 
the  Constitution  is  not  a  compact,  but  a  law,  by  its 
nature  supreme  and  perpetual,  won  for  him  the  proud 
name  of  the  Expounder  of  the  Constitution,  rests  with 
those  whose  work  he  so  nobly  vindicated,  happy  at  least 
that  his  eyes  were  not  permitted  to  behold  the  sad  sight 
of  States  "discordant,  belligerent,  and  drenched  in 
fraternal  blood." 

The  lips  of  him  who  twenty-five  years  ago  commem- 
orated this  anniversary  with  that  surpassing  grace  and 
eloquence  all  his  own,  and  with  that  spirit  of  pure  pat- 
riotism in  which  we  may  strive  at  least  to  imitate  him, 
are  silent  now.  Throughout  the  cruel  years  of  war  that 
clarion  voice,  sweet  yet  far-resounding,  summoned  his 
countrymen  to  the  struggle  on  which  our  Union  de- 
pended ;  yet  the  last  time  that  it  waked  the  echoes  of  the 
ancient  hall  dedicated  to  liberty,  even  while  the  retiring 
storm  yet  thundered  along  the  horizon,  was,  as  he  would 
have  wished  it  should  have  been,  in  love  and  charity  to 
the  distressed  people  of  the  South. 

But,  although  they  have  passed  beyond  the  veil  which 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  125 

separates  the  unseen  world  from  mortal  gaze,  the  lessons 
which  they  have  left  remain,  adjuring  us  whatever  may 
have  been  the  perils,  the  discords,  the  sorrows  of  the 
past,  to  struggle  always  for  that  "  more  perfect  Union  " 
ordained  by  the  Constitution.  Here,  at  least,  however 
poor  and  inadequate  for  an  occasion  that  rises  so  vast 
and  grand  above  us  our  words  may  be,  none  shall  be 
uttered  that  are  not  in  regard  and  love  to  all  of  our 
fellow-citizens,  no  feelings  indulged  except  those  of 
anxious  desire  for  their  prosperity  and  happiness. 

Beside  those  of  New  England,  we  are  gratified  to-day 
by  the  presence  of  military  organizations  from  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania,  from  Maryland,  Virginia,  and 
South  Carolina,  as  well  as  by  that  of  distinguished  citi- 
zens from  these  and  other  States  of  the  Union.  Their 
fathers  were  ancient  friends  of  Massachusetts;  it  was 
the  inspiration  they  gave  which  strengthened  the  heart 
and  nerved  the  arm  of  every  man  of  New  England.  In 
every  proper  and  larger  sense  the  soil  upon  which  their 
sons  stand  to-day  is  theirs  as  much  as  ours;  and, 
wherever  there  may  have  been  estrangement,  here  at 
least  we  have  met  upon  common  ground.  They  unite 
with  us  in  recognition  of  the  great  principles  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  and  in  pious  memory  of  those  who 
vindicated  them;  they  join  with  us  in  the  wish  to  make 
of  this  regenerated  Union  a  power  grander  and  more 
august  than  its  founders  dared  to  hope. 

Standing  always  in  generous  remembrance  of  every 
section  of  the  Union,  neither  now  nor  hereafter  will  we 
distinguish  between  States  or  sections  in  our  anxiety  for 
the  glory  and  happiness  of  all.  To-day  upon  the  verge 


126  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

of  the  centuries,  as  together  we  look  back  upon  that 
which  is  gone  in  deep  and  heartfelt  gratitude  for  the 
prosperity  so  largely  enjoyed  by  us,  so  together  will  we 
look  forward  serenely  and  with  confidence  to  that  which 
is  advancing.  Together  we  will  utter  our  solemn  aspi- 
rations in  the  spirit  of  the  motto  of  the  city  which  now 
incloses  within  its  limits  the  battle-field  and  the  town  for 
which  it  was  fought :  "  As  God  was  to  our  fathers,  so 
may  He  be  to  us ! " 


The  orator  was  listened  to  with  close  attention,  and  was 
frequently  applauded.  At  the  conclusion,  Hon.  E.  R.  Hoar 
proposed  three  cheers  for  General  Devens,  which,  under  the 
lead  of  the  Marshal,  were  heartily  given. 

Afterwards,  the  Apollo  Club  sung  the  following  hyinn, 
written  by  CHARLES  JAMES  SPRAGUE  :  — 


Here,  where  the  savage  bands 
Roved  through  the  forest  lands, 

Wild  and  unknown, 
Came  sturdy  men  of  yore, 
Strong  in  the  faith  they  bore, 
Making  this  desert  shore 

Freedom's  high  throne. 

Here,  where  the  pilgrim  few 
Unto  a  nation  grew, 

Spread  far  and  wide, 
Came  an  invading  foe, 
That  throne  to  overthrow 
With  but  a  feeble  blow 

Struck  at  our  pride. 


BATTLE   OP  BUNKER  HILL.  127 

Here,  where  the  patriots  stood, 
Came  that  wild  strife  of  blood, 

Where  peace  now  reigns. 
Here  hand  to  hand  they  met, 
Here  then  our  soil  was  wet 
With  the  red  tide  that  yet 

Throbs  in  our  veins. 

Gone  is  the  savage  now, 
Gone  the  invading  foe, 

Freed  is  our  land. 
O  Lord  of  war  and  peace, 
May  strife  forever  cease, 
And  may  our  strength  increase, 

Fed  by  Thy  hand ! 

Judge  WARREN  then  advanced,  and,  gracefully  acknowl- 
edging the  applause  which  greeted  him,  addressed  the  audience 
as  follows :  — 


ADDRESS   BY   G.   WASHINGTON  WARREN,   PRESIDENT  OF 
THE   ASSOCIATION. 

This  is  the  first  centennial  anniversary  of  Bunker 
Hill.  The  century  just  past  has  presented  to  its  suc- 
cessors yonder  national  Monument  of  gratitude  to  the 
heroic  fathers  of  the  republic.  Erected  under  the 
supervision  of  Solomon  Willard,  that  renowned  archi- 
tect, who  spurned  to  take  the  proper  compensation  for 
his  eighteen  years'  service,  being  a  descendant  of  a 
gallant  officer  whose  remains  lie  at  the  foot  of  this 
hill;  consecrated  at  its  commencement  and  completion 
by  the  majestic  Webster,  whose  words  still  live,  and 
can  never  fail  to  instruct;  impelled  in  its  progress  by 
the  silver- voiced,  all-persuasive  Everett  —  the  contribu- 


128  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

tion  of  the  whole  people,  to  which  Louisiana,  South 
Carolina,  and  the  other  States  joined  with  Massa- 
chusetts, it  stands  the  silent  orator,  gathering,  in  its 
massive  form,  all  the  tune-hallowed  associations  of  the 
place ;  and,  as  it  lifts  its  gray  head  to  keep  company 
with  the  stars,  and  takes  notes  as  impassively  as  they 
of  the  centuries  that  are  to  follow,  may  it  be  to  all 
the  inhabitants  to  the  remotest  age  an  INSPIRATION  to 
patriotism,  and  to  those  good  works  which  make  for 
the  liberty,  the  union,  and  the  true  grandeur  of  the 
United  States  of  America. 

The  Association  invoked  the  presence  of  the  high 
officers  of  the  National  Government  in  its  three  co- 
ordinate departments,  and  of  the  Executive  officer  of 
every  State,  and  of  the  principal  city  thereof.  From 
the  sincere  regrets  of  the  absent  we  know  that  all 
are  here  either  in  the  body  or  in  spirit.  The  heart 
of  Bunker  Hill,  now  crowning  the  metropolis  of  Bos- 
ton, is  big  enough  to  receive  you  all,  and  begs  you 
in  her  name  and  in  her  undying  glories  to  bury  all 
animosities,  and  to  resolve  that  henceforth  there  shall 
be  no  contention  except  who  shall  best  serve  our 
glorious  country. 

We  desired  also  that  every  nation  should  be  repre- 
sented here  by  its  minister  accredited  to  Washington, 
making  this  an  occasion  also  of  international  harmony. 
Yes,  we  desired  very  much  to  be  honored  by  the 
presence  of  the  distinguished  minister  from  our  mother 
country,  whose  good  sovereign  is  nowhere  more  highly 
esteemed  than  here.  In  1871,  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States  celebrated  this  anniversary  by  the 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL. 


1'29 


following  the  motto  of  President  Grant,  "  Let  us  have 
peace." 

The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was  fought  by  our  fathers 
in  defence  of  the  principles  of  the  British  constitution, 
and  the  issue  has  been  for  the  healing  of  all  nations. 

At  the  Bunker  Hill  dinner,  fifty  years  ago,  Lafayette 
predicted  that  the  toast  on  this  Centennial  day  would 
be  To  ENFRANCHISED  EUROPE.  How  far  this  predic- 
tion has  been  verified,  let  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs 
in  Kussia,  the  re-establishment  of  the  republic  in 
France,  the  enlargement  of  the  suffrage  in  England, 
and  the  general  spread  of  liberal  principles  and  the 
encouragement  of  learning  everywhere,  answer. 

South  Carolina  has  sent  us  a  palmetto  tree,  which  we 
have  planted  in  front  by  the  side  of  the  pine  tree.  May 
those  two  State  emblems  to-day  planted  on  Bunker 
Hill  be  a  symbol  of  renewed  fraternity,  never  again  to 
be  interrupted.  Let  it  be  taken  also  as  a  pledge  of 
reunion  between  all  the  States ;  for,  with  Massachusetts 
and  South  Carolina  in  full  accord,  as  they  were  one 
hundred  years  ago,  our  Union  is  as  firm  and  enduring 
as  our  Monument,  which  they,  with  true  patriotism, 
joined  together  in  building. 

In  calling  upon  some  of  our  distinguished  guests  to 
address  you  briefly,  I  will  take  the  liberty  to  present  to 
you  first  the  gallant  General  who  has  travelled  fifteen 
hundred  miles  to  participate  in  this  celebration. 


130       CENTENNIAL  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE 


REMARKS  OP  GENERAL  SHERMAN. 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  —  Before  re- 
sponding to  your  call,  let  me  take  issue  with  your  hon- 
ored President  in  calling  on  me  as  the  National  Repre- 
sentative. You  can  see  for  yourselves  on  this  platform 
the  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  several  Judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  about  a  dozen  Governors  of 
States,  all  of  whom  take  precedence  of  me,  and  all  of 
whom  are  accustomed  to  speak  and  are  expecting  to 
address  you.  Still  it  is  true  that  I  have  come  about 
fifteen  hundred  miles  to  share  in  this  grand  Centennial, 
and  I  am  glad  that  I  have  come. 

If  I  do  nothing  else,  I  can  be  the  first  to  respond  to 
General  Devens'  call,  to  come  on  this  platform  and  renew 
the  pledge  to  maintain  and  defend  the  Constitution  of 
our  country,  to  fight  again,  if  need  be,  for  the  old  flag 
and  those  sacred  principles  of  right  that  were  announced 
ninety-nine  years  ago  by  your  Hancock  and  the 
Adamses.  I  know  that  there  are  many  soldiers  in 
this  vast  audience,  and,  were  I  to  call  on  them  to  come 
forward  and  share  in  this  pledge,  I  am  sure  they  would 
promptly  respond  with  an  amen. 

Indeed  do  we  stand  on  sacred  soil  at  the  foot  of  old 
Bunker  Hill  Monument.  I  almost  feel  pained  to  hear  it 
called  Breed's  Hill.  It  was  Bunker  Hill  when  I  was  a 
boy,  and  to  me  it  is  Bunker  Hill  still.  I  find  it 
recorded  in  bold  letters  on  that  granite  shaft,  and  I 
insist  that  it  is  Bunker  Hill.  If  Mr.  Breed  is  here, 
I  advise  him  to  convey  to  Bunker,  and  be  content  with 
the  other  and  larger  hill  close  by. 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  131 

I  assure  you  that  I  have  listened  with  the  most  intense 
interest  to  the  graphic  description  by  your  orator,  Gen- 
eral Devens,  of  that  battle,  fought  on  this  ground  one 
hundred  years  ago,  and  confess  to  a  soldier's  admira- 
tion of  that  small  band,  under  Colonel  Prescott,  that  was 
"  told  off  "  in  the  camp  at  Cambridge,  to  go,  they  knew 
not  exactly  where,  to  fight  the  veteran  British  host 
beleaguered  in  Boston.  They  marched  off  silently  by 
night  to  do,  as  soldiers  should,  their  duty;  and  it  was 
providential  that  they  were  conducted  to  this  very  spot, 
instead  of  the  one  further  back,  designated  in  their 
orders.  I  have  no  doubt  that  General  Devens  has 
truthfully  given  the  narration,  with  a  fair  distribution  of 
the  honors. 

Warren,  though  the  senior  present,  did  not  assume,  as 
he  might  have  done,  the  supreme  command,  but  fought 
as  a  volunteer,  and  died  upon  the  field  a  martyr  and  a 
hero,  venerated  everywhere. 

Prescott  was  the  actual  commander  on  this  spot.  He 
conducted  his  brigade,  prepared  with  their  intrenching 
tools,  and  with  their  weapons  to  fight.  Silently  and 
with  skill  they  constructed  by  night  the  redoubt  and 
flank  defences,  and  the  daylight  found  them  ready  for 
the  issue.  How  they  fought  you  have  already  heard, 
and,  as  the  actual  commander  on  Bunker  Hill,  Prescott 
is  entitled  to  all  honor  and  glory. 

General  Putnam,  too,  contributed  large  assistance ;  but 
he  has  ample  honor  without  claiming  this.  I  like  to 
think  of  him  in  that  story  of  a  man  riding  down  the 
fabulous  stairs  pictured  in  our  story-books,  at  some 
place,  I  confess  I  now  forget  where.  He  was  a 


132  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSAKY    OF   THE 

glorious  old  soldier,  and  his  services  and  examples 
are  worth  a  dozen  monuments  like  this  on  Bunker 
Hill,  even  if  made  of  pure  gold. 

Now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  have  responded  to  your 
call,  not  with  any  purpose  to  edify  you,  but  because  you 
seem  to  desire  it;  and,  though  a  stranger  to  most  of  you, 
I  believe  you  desire  to  simply  look  upon  and  hear  from 
one  of  those  who  have  flitted  across  the  horizon  and 
attracted  some  notice;  but  I  also  thank  you  for  your 
cordial  reception,  and  for  giving  me  the  opportunity  to 
witness  one  of  the  most  gorgeous  pageants  that  has  ever 
occurred  on  this  continent. 

Seated  by  thousands  beneath  this  vast  canopy,  you 
doubtless  esteem  yourselves  a  vast  and  well-ordered 
crowd;  but  you  are  as  nothing  compared  with  the  hosts 
which  to-day  lined  the  streets  of  Boston.  You  hardly 
equal  the  group  which  occupied  each  block  of  the  hun- 
dreds along  which  we  have  passed  to-day;  and  as  the 
newspapers  of  the  morning  will  describe  to  them,  and 
to  all  the  world,  what  occurs  here,  I  will  no  longer 
occupy  your  time,  but  give  place  to  the  many  orators 
that  will  be  proud  to  address  such  an  audience.  I 
again  thank  you  for  your  kind  and  cordial  reception, 
and  apologize  for  detaining  you  so  long. 

The  President  then  said  :  — w  There  is  a  little  time  left.  I 
propose  to  call  upon  all  the  Governors,  beginning  with  the  Gov- 
ernor who  has  come  farthest  to  see  us.  All  Governors  will 
take  notice  thereof  and  govern  themselves  accordingly." 

The  Governor  of  Mississippi  and  the  Governor  of  Michigan 
were  called,  but  neither  responded.  The  Governor  of  Pennsyl- 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER   HILL.  133 

vania  was  next  called  for,  and  upon  presenting  himself  was 
greeted  with  three  cheers. 

REMARKS  OF  GOVERNOR  HARTRANFT. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  —  I  certainly  feel  a  delicacy 
in  appearing  before  you  as  a  Governor,  because  I  was 
reminded  to-day  that  Governors  were  as  plenty  in  this 
town  as  general  officers  were  at  Washington  during 
the  war,  and  certainly  I  suppose  some  of  those  other 
gentlemen  are  now  in  the  field  doing  duty.  I  did  not 
come  fifteen  hundred  miles,  like  my  friend  General 
Sherman,  but  I  have  brought  with  me  fifteen  hundred 
Pennsylvanians  to  take  part  in  this  celebration.  It 
is  not  my  desire  to  make  any  speech,  but  I  know  they 
would  not  like  it  did  I  not  invite  you  from  all  States  in 
the  Union,  and  pledge  you  a  cordial  welcome  to  Phila- 
delphia next  year,  when  the  hundredth  anniversary  of 
our  nation  is  to  be  celebrated.  [The  PRESIDENT. — 
"  We  are  coming."]  The  celebration  is,  of  course,  of  a 
national  character,  and  we  in  common  only  have  our 
share  in  the  ceremonies  and  in  the  exhibition.  But  we 
also  have  a  local  interest  and  pride  in  having  every 
citizen,  whether  he  comes  from  the  ]^orth  or  the  South, 
the  East  or  the  West,  feel  assured  that  he  will  receive 
all  the  hospitality  that  it  is  in  our  power  to  extend,  and 
that  we  meet  there  as  brothers  and  freemen  around 
those  famed  precincts  where  the  charters  of  our  liberties 
were  signed.  Let  us  there  bury  our  differences  and 
our  animosities,  resolving  to  perpetuate  and  transmit, 
unimpaired  and  indivisible,  the  Union  which  has  been 
given  to  us. 


134  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

The  Apollo  Club  then  sung  the  following  song,  written  by 
CHAELES  JAMES  SPRAGUE  :  — 

Freedom  dwells  throughout  our  own  beloved  land ; 

Up  to  heaven  its  voice  is  swelling ; 
From  the  mountain  heights  afar  to  ocean  strand 

Every  breeze  the  tale  is  telling. 
Never  weary  of  the  ever  joyous  song, 
Heart  and  voice  united  bear  along. 
Loyal  to  the  end, 
Ready  to  defend, 
Foe  within  and  out  repelling. 

War's  alarum  rolled  a  hundred  years  ago 

O'er  the  peaceful  scene  around  us  ; 
Where  our  patriot  fathers  struck  a  mortal  blow 

At  the  haughty  power  that  bound  us. 
Now  from  north  or  south  together  e'er  we  stand, 
Dwellers  in  a  free  and  mighty  land. 
Loyal  to  the  end, 
Ready  to  defend, 
What  their  gloried  valor  found  us. 

Freedom,  dwells  throughout  our  own  beloved  land. 

Wide  as  heaven  arches  o'er  it ; 
Like  the  rising  sun,  the  patriot's  armed  hand 

Swept  the  clouds  of  wrong  before  it. 
Sound  aloud  the  joyous  word  from  crag  to  crag  ! 
Plant  on  every  peak  our  starry  flag ! 
Loyal  to  the  end, 
Ready  to  defend, 
Guard,  and,  as  a  shrine,  adore  it ! 

The  President  next  called  upon  the  Governor  of  New  Jersey, 
who  responded  as  follows  :  — 

REMARKS    OF    GOVERNOR   BEDLE. 

This  is  no  time,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  to  undertake 
to  make  a  speech.     On  receiving  the  invitation  to  be 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKEB   HILL.  135 

present  on  this  occasion,  I  determined,  if  it  were  possi- 
ble, as  an  humble  representative  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  to  come  here  and  join  in  this  celebration ;  and  it 
is  a  happy  moment  for  me  to  be  here,  in  the  home  of 
the  Adamses  and  of  Hancock,  two  of  whom,  Samuel 
Adams  and  John  Hancock,  were  rebels,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  Great  Britain,  of  the  deepest  dye,  and,  when 
others  were  to  be  pardoned,  their  crimes  were  such  as 
to  merit  only  condign  punishment.  They  were  not 
rebels,  they  were  patriots;  they  were  freemen;  they 
were  raised  up  by  Providence  to  assert  the  great 
principles  that  were  afterwards  fought  for  at  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill  and  proclaimed  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence. 

I  am  here  from  New  Jersey.  New  Jersey,  too,  has 
a  history.  I  am  here  not  to  praise  her.  She  has  her 
record.  She  has  her  Trenton,  her  Princeton,  and  her 
Monmouth,  and  in  due  time  those  events  will  be  cele- 
brated, and  then  we  expect  Massachusetts  will  be  there. 
We  expect  to  be  at  that  great  centennial  of  July  4th, 
1876,  which  is  to  be  the  grand  consummation  of  all 
the  centennials ;  and  when  you  go  across  the  territory 
of  New  Jersey  remember  that  the  winter  of  1776  was 
"  the  time  that  tried  men's  souls  "  there.  You  know 
how  our  gallant  American  army,  after  evacuating  New 
York,  retreated  across  the  State  of  New  Jersey;  how 
they  were  followed  by  the  British  army;  how  they 
were  re-formed,  and  how,  when  those  battles  of  Trenton 
and  Princeton  were  fought,  the  depressed  spirit  of  our 
forefathers  revived  and  the  tide  of  revolution  turned. 

Now,  my  friends,  I  have  nothing  more  to  say,  except 


136  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY    OF   THE 

to  thank  you  for  this  great  demonstration.  This  has 
been  a  magnificent  pageant.  Nothing  like  it,  as  Gen- 
eral Sherman  said.  Just  think  of  it!  Boston  has 
emptied  herself,  the  country  has  emptied  herself,  so  to 
speak,  into  the  streets  through  which  we  have  passed 
to-day;  and  who  could  see  this  vast  multitude  without 
feeling  that  there  was  a  revival  of  the  good  old  spirit  of 
ancient  days  ?  When  these  centennials  were  first 
talked  of,  I  thought  very  little*  of  them;  but  now  I 
confess  I  am  getting  very  much  in  the  idea.  I  believe 
they  will  do  more  than  anything  else  to  revive  a 
better  spirit.  Let  us  forget  the  recent  past;  let  us  go 
back  to  the  ancient  past,  if  I  may  use  that  expression, 
and  take  our  lessons  from  that.  Let  us  look  to  our  an- 
cestors, to  the  men  who  founded  our  institutions,  for  our 
examples.  In  that  way,  familiarizing  ourselves  with  the 
history  of  those  times,  may  we  become  better  men  and 
better  citizens,  ridding  ourselves  of  the  fraud  and  ex- 
travagance which  have  been  the  necessary  results  of  the 
war.  We  want  honesty  of  purpose;  we  want  the  dis- 
position to  do,  in  our  own  times,  if  it  becomes  necessary, 
as  our  patriot  fathers  said  they  would  do,  eat  no  more 
lamb,  if  necessary,  in  order  to  have  more  wool  to  work 
up  into  homespun  cloth. 

I  again  thank  you,  and  now  extend  to  you  a  cordial 
invitation  to  come  down  to  New  Jersey  when  the 
proper  time  arrives. 

The  President  then  called  for  the  Governors  of  Connecticut, 
New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island,  without  obtaining  any  re- 
sponse. Finally,  he  called  for  the  Governor  of  Maine,  the 


BATTLE   OF  BUNKER  HILL.  137 

representative  of  a  State  "which  ought  to  be  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts still,"  and  Governor  DINGLEY  of  Maine  responded. 

REMARKS   OF   GOVERNOR   DINGLEY. 

Mr.  President,  and  Fellow- Citizens  of  the  United 
States :  —  For  standing  on  ground  baptized  with  the 
blood  of  the  brave  men  who,  a  century  since,  stood  for 
liberty  and  nationality,  I  am  sure  that  we  may  all  take 
special  pride  in  the  fact  that  we  are  not  so  much  repre- 
sentatives of  individual  States  as  fellow-citizens  of  a 
common  country.  You  have  introduced  me,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, as  the  representative  of  that  State  which  was  once 
a  part  of  Massachusetts,  and  which  (as  you  kindly 
observed)  ought  to  still  occupy  that  position.  I  ac- 
knowledge the  compliment  which  may  be  intended  hi 
the  concession  that  Maine  is  worthy  of  being  included 
in  such  a  grand  Commonwealth  as  Massachusetts;  and 
yet  I  am  sure  that  after  a  hundred  and  thirty  years  of 
devoted  service  in  the  old  homestead,  the  daughter  had 
reached  her  majority,  and  was  entitled  to  set  up  house- 
keeping for  herself.  Assuredly,  sir,  you  can  testify 
that  she  was  a  devoted  daughter,  and  did  not  go  forth 
from  the  mother's  arms  until  she  saw  her  triumphant 
over  foes  abroad  and  at  home,  and  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  the  best  thought  and  most  beneficent  ideas  of 
the  age.  I  assure  you,  sir,  that  Maine  is  proud  of  her 
political  mother,  the  grand  old  Commonwealth,  and 
entertains  for  her  an  affection  which  time  cannot  dim. 
We  feel  that  the  glorious  history  of  the  Old  Bay  State 
is  our  history ;  that  her  Adams,  and  Hancock,  and  Pres- 
cott,  and  Warren  belong  also  to  us ;  and  that  her  battle- 


138  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

fields,  her  Concord,  and  Lexington,  and  Bunker  Hill 
are  ours.  And,  standing  to-day  on  the  spot  where  the 
martyrs  of  liberty  fell  a  hundred  years  ago  this  very 
afternoon,  I  pledge  to  you,  and  to  the  citizens  of  every 
other  State  of  our  common  country  here  assembled,  that 
the  men  of  Maine  will  be  ready  in  the  future,  as  they 
have  in  the  past,  to  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  you 
in  defence  of  the  nation  which  was  then  made  possible. 
And  may  this  centennial  anniversary,  and  the  centen- 
nial anniversaries  to  come,  recalling  as  they  do  the 
memories  of  common  sacrifices  and  common  victories, 
serve  to  soften  the  resentments,  and  strengthen  the  ties 
of  North  and  South,  and  lead  the  citizens  of  every  sec- 
tion of  the  republic  to  acknowledge  the  stars  and 
stripes  as  their  flag,  and  the  Union,  dedicated  to  free- 
dom and  equal  rights,  as  their  country  and  their  home. 

The  Chief  Marshal  called  for  "  three  cheers  for  Gov.  Ding- 
ley,"  which  were  given  with  great  heartiness. 

The  President  said  :  —  "I  stated  to  the  audience  that  I  would 
call  upon  our  fellow-citizens  of  the  United  States  in  the  order  of 
the  distance  from  which  they  came.  We  are  now  at  home 
again,  and  at  home  in  the  United  States  of  America,  and  I  now 
call  upon  Vice-President  WILSON." 

The  Vice-President  was  greeted  with  three  hearty  cheers. 
He  spoke  as  follows  :  — 

REMARKS   OF    HON.   HENRY   WILSON. 

I  am  sure,  Mr.  President,  you  have  not  presented  me 
to  this  vast  assemblage  at  this  hour,  to  weary  the  ear 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  139 

with  speech.  Nor  have  you  called  me  up  to  be  looked 
at,  for  there  are  far  better-looking  gentlemen  around 
you;  besides,  it  is  quite  too  dark  to  get  a  good  sight  at 
any  one  of  us.  I  am  here,  too,  in  my  own  Middlesex. 
[A  voice,  "Suffolk  now."]  Charlestown  has  escaped 
from  us  into  Suffolk,  but  we  people  of  old  Middlesex 
will  hold  on  to  Concord,  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill 
forever  more. 

I  am  glad,  Mr.  President,  that  we  have  witnessed 
this  magnificent  spectacle.  General  Sherman  tells  us, 
strangers  tell  us,  we  know  it,  for  our  own  eyes  have 
seen  it,  that  this  is  the  grandest  demonstration  ever 
beheld  upon  the  North  American  continent.  I  hope, 
I  believe  too,  that  this  anniversary  celebration,  the 
memories  associated  with  this  day,  the  generous  spirit 
that  animates  all  bosoms,  will  largely  contribute  to  the 
cause  of  unity  and  liberty  in  the  century  upon  which  we 
have  entered.  These  celebrations  at  Concord,  Lexing- 
ton and  Bunker  Hill,  like  the  events  they  commemorate, 
tend  to  inspire  all  American  hearts  with  patriotism  and 
affectionate  regard  for  our  countrymen.  I  hail  this 
anniversary,  I  hail  the  anniversaries  upon  which  we  have 
entered,  as  grand  events,  calculated  to  reunite,  reinspire, 
and  reinvigorate  the  American  people,  and  bind  us 
together  with  hooks  of  steel.  The  Centennial  Cele- 
bration of  the  anniversary  of  Independence  is  to  be 
in  Philadelphia  next  year.  I  hope  that  this  anniver- 
sary festival  will  tend  to  inspire  the  nation,  and  that 
the  country  and  the  people  of  the  country  will  make 
that  the  grandest  occasion  ever  witnessed  by  mortal 
man.  Grand  as  were  the  words  of  Daniel  Webster, 


140  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

when  the  foundations  of  that  Monument  were  laid,  in 
the  presence  of  Lafayette  and  the  aged  heroes  of  the 
Revolution;  grand  as  were  his  words  when  that  Monu- 
ment had  been  completed,  no  words  uttered  by  him 
were  better  calculated  to  do  more  good,  in  all  this  broad 
land,  than  are  the  words  uttered  here  to-day,  in  the 
present  condition  of  the  country.  Let  us,  sir,  all  re- 
member that  union  now,  nationality  now,  development 
now,  are  all  in  harmony  with  the  great,  grand,  central 
idea  of  humanity,  the  liberties,  equal  and  impartial 
liberties,  of  all  the  children  of  men. 

The  President  remarked  :  —  "  We  have  received  two  de- 
spatches to-day,  one  from  San  Francisco  and  one  from  New 
Orleans.  I  will  ask  the  Marshal  to  read  them,  and  then  to 
read  a  short  ode  which  has  been  selected  from  very  many  con- 
tributions offered." 

The  Marshal  read  the  despatches  as  follows  :  — 

.  SAN  FRANCISCO,  June  17,  1875. 
To  the  HON.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WARREN,  President  of  the  Bunker 

Hill  Monument  Association :  — 

San  Francisco,  — from  the  golden  gates  of  the  Pacific  to  the  Bunker 
Hill  Association:  The  citizens  of  our  Western  shore  send  their 
fraternal  greetings  to  our  brethren  of  the  Atlantic  coast  assembled  on 
Bunker  Hill  to  commemorate  the  centennial  of  the  great  battle  fought 
there.  We  have  our  mass  meeting  to-night. 

NEW  ORLEANS,  June  17,  1875. 
GOVERNOR  GASTON,  Boston :  — 

For  myself,  and  the  good  people  of  the  Crescent  City,  I  send  you 
greetings  from  Old  Chalmette  to  Bunker  Hill,  on  the  occasion  of  3- our 
Centennial  celebration. 

JOHN  G.  PARKER, 

Postmaster  of  New  Orleans. 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER  HILL.  141 

The  Marshal  then  read  the  following  ode,  written  by  GEORGE 
SENNOTT,  Esquire :  — 


Heroes  of  Greek  Renown ! 
Ye,  who  with  floods  of  Persian  gore 
Purpled  Cychreia's  sounding  shore ! 
Strong  wielders  of  the  Dorian  spear  • 
And  ye  —  dear  children  of  the  Dear  - 

The  Holy  Violet  Crown ! 
Ye  live  to-day.     Distance  and  Time 
Vanish  before  our  longing  eyes  — 
And  fresh  in  their  eternal  prime 

The  Demi-Gods  arise. 


Fierce  breed  of  iron  Rome ! 
Ye  whose  relentless  eagle's  wings 
O'ershadowing  subjugated  Kings, 
With  Death  and  black  Destruction  fraught, 
To  ev'ry  hateful  Tyrant  brought 

His  own  curs'd  lesson  home  ! 
Smile  sternly  now ;  a  free-born  race 
Here  draw  your  proudest  maxims  in, 
And  eagerly,  in  ampler  space, 

And  mightier  Rome  begin  ! 


Savage,  yet  dauntless  crew ! 
Who  broke  with  grim,  unflinching  zeal, 
The  mighty  Spaniard's  heart  of  steel, 
When,  ye,  with  patriotic  hands, 
Bursting  the  dykes  that  kept  your  lands, 

Let  Death  and  Freedom  through  ! 
Arise  in  glory !     Angry  floods 
And  haughty  bigots  all  are  tame, 
But  ye,  like  liberating  gods, 

Have  everlasting  fame. 


142  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVEESAET   OF   THE 


Ye  few  rock-nurtured  Men, 
Suliote  or  Swiss,  whose  crags  defied 
Burgundian  power  and  Turkish  pride  ! 
Whose  deeds,  so  dear  to  Freedmen  still, 
Make  every  Alp  a  holy  hill  — 

A  shrine  each  Suliote  glen  ! 
Rejoice  to-day !     No  little  bands 
Front  here  th'  exulting  Tyrant's  horde ; 
But  Freedom  sways  with  giant  hands 

Her  ocean-sweeping  sword ! 


Chiefs  of  our  own  blest  land, 
To  whom  th'  oppressed  of  all  mankind 
A  sacred  refuge  look  to  find  ! 
Of  every  race  the  pride  and  boast, 
From  wild  Atlantic's  stormy  coast 

To  far  Pacific's  strand  ! 
Millions  on  millions  here  maintain 
Your  generous  aims  with  steady  will, 
And  make  our  vast  imperial  reign 

The  world's  asylum  still ! 


The  concluding  hymn  was  then  sung  by  the  Apollo  Club  :  — 
HYMN. 

VORDS  BY  G.  WASHINGTON  WARREN  —  MUSIC  BY  AST. 

From  the  blood  that  steeped  this  ground, 
From  the  flames  which  swept  around, 
Comes  to  us  the  grateful  sound, 

PLACID  PEACE  WITH  LIBERTY. 

Not  as  now,  in  plenteous  days, 
Earned  our  sires  the  Patriot's  praise, 
But  by  hard  and  stormy  ways, 
Got  they  us  the  victory. 


BATTLE   OP  BUNKER  HILL.  143 

Sweet  it  is  to  die  for  thee, 
Country  fair —  now  grandly  free ; 
Though  to  few  that  lot  may  be, 
ALL  may  nobly  live  for  thee. 

God  who  led'st  our  Fathers  forth, 
Gav'st  our  land  her  second  birth, 
Bless  these  States  with  manly  worth, 
Keep  them  close  in  harmony. 

A  benediction  was  pronounced  by  the  Eev.  PHILLIPS  BROOKS, 
and  at  eight  o'clock  the  exercises  at  the  pavilion  were  brought 
to  a  close. 


The  following  letter  has  been  received  from  His  Excellency 
Governor  INGERSOLL,  in  response  to  the  call  made  upon  him :  — 

STATE  OF  CONNECTICUT. 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 

NEW  HAVEN,  June  18th,  1875. 

DEAR  SIR  :  —  I  very  much  regret  that,  under  the  erroneous  supposi- 
tion that  the  exercises  at  Bunker  Hill  yesterday  would,  by  reason  of 
the  lateness  of  the  hour,  close  with  the  oration  of  General  Devens,  I 
left  the  tent  at  that  time  to  fulfil  another  engagement  and,  therefore, 
was  not  present  to  acknowledge  the  honor  paid  to  my  State  by  your 
call  upon  me  among  the  other  guests  of  the  occasion. 

It  is  the  singular  fortune  of  Connecticut  that,  although  she  sent 
into  the  armies  of  the  Revolution  more  soldiers  than  any  other  colony 
save  one,  —  maintaining  in  actual  service,  at  one  time,  out  of  the 
State,  twenty-two  full  regiments,  when  her  population  but  little  ex- 
ceeded two  hundred  thousand  persons,  —  she  must,  nevertheless,  look 
beyond  her  borders  for  the  battle-fields  that  have  been  made  historic 
by  the  valor  and  the  blood  of  her  children.  Conspicuous  among 
them  all,  and  by  far  closer  than  any  by  its  associations  of  peculiar 
force,  is  that  field  upon  the  Charlestown  heights,  where  New  England 


144  CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY   OF   THE 

for  the  first  time  confronted  Old  England  in  war.  It  was  there  that 
our  young  militia  received  its  "baptism  of  fire,"  and  our  peaceful 
vines  were  first  emblazoned  upon  a  flag  of  battle  ;  and  it  is  through 
the  smoke  and  dust  of  the  conflict  around  Bunker's  Hill  that  there 
looms  up  most  distinctly  to  Connecticut  eyes  one  heroic  figure  of  the 
Revolution,  —  the  man  "who  dared  to  lead  where  any  dared  to 
follow,"  —  Israel  Putnam. 

It  is  for  these  reasons,  especially,  that  it  gave  me  great  pleasure  to 
participate  in  the  superb  demonstration  in  Boston  yesterday,  and  that 
I  now  regret  the .  circumstances  which  deprived  me  of  the  pleasure  of 
sharing  in  all  the  subsequent  exercises  in  Charlestown. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully  yours, 

CHARLES  R.  INGERSOLL. 

Gr.  WASHINGTON  WARREN,  Esq., 

President  Bunker  Hill  Association,  etc.,  etc., 
Charlestown,  Mass. 


The  following  letters  and  despatches  were  received  by  the 
Mayor :  — 

STATE  OF  LOUISIANA. 

MAYORALTY  OF  NEW  ORLEANS, 

CITY  HALL,  22d  day  of  May,  1$75. 
HON.  SAMUEL  C.  COBB,  Mayor  of  Boston,  Mass. :  — 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  esteemed  favor  of  the  17th  inst.,  inviting  me  to 
participate  in  the  celebration  of  the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  the 
Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  tendering  to  me  the  hospitalities  of  your 
citjr,  has  just  been  received. 

Please  return  my  sincere  thanks  to  the  gentlemen  of  your  City 
Council  for  their  very  kind  invitation,  and  say  to  them  that  my 
official  duties  preclude  the  possibility  of  my  accepting  the  same. 

Permit  me  to  assure  you,  sir,  that  it  is  with  great  regret  that  I  have 
to  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  visiting  your  noble  city,  and  of  joining 
with  you  in  the  celebration  of  an  event  so  replete  with  interest  to  all 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER  HILL.  145 

true  lovers  of  our  country.  With  my  best  wishes  for  your  success, 
and  the  hope  that  you  will  have  a  glorious  celebration,  I  have  the 
honor  to  be,  sir,  with  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  J.  LEEDS,  Mayor. 


CITY  OF  MEMPHIS. 
MAYOR'S  OFFICE, 

MEMPHIS,  TENN.,  May  29th,  1875. 
To  His  HONOR  SAMUEL  C.  COBB,  Mayor  of  Boston,  Mass. :  — 

DEAR  SIR,  — Your  valued  favor  of  the  17th  inst.,  with  invitation, 
from  the  committee  appointed  by  the  City  Council  of  Boston,  to  be 
present  at  the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
and  tendering  the  hospitalities  of  the  city  on  the  occasion,  came  duly 
to  hand,  for  which  please  accept  my  sincere  and  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments. I  postponed  answering  until  now  with  the  hope  that  it  would 
be  possible  for  me  to  be  present  and  participate  in  one  of  the  grandest 
celebrations  which  has  ever  occurred  in  America.  But  I  am,  sir,  I 
regret  to  say,  compelled  by  a  pressure  of  public  business  to  decline 
your  cordial  invitation  ;  this  I  regret  the  more,  as  the  occasion  would 
have  afforded  me  an  excellent,  and  much  desired,  opportunity  to  ex- 
press to  you,  personally,  the  thanks  of  our  citizens  to  the  good  people 
of  Boston  for  their  liberality  and  very  great  kindness  to  us  in  the 
days  of  affliction  gone  by. 

Americans  have,  in  every  section  of  this  vast  country,  scenes  to 
picture  and  events  to  speak  of  to  stimulate  national  pride  ;  but  nothing 
will  live  longer  in  history  than  the  recollection  of  the  valor  and  daring 
of  the  Minute  Men  at  Bunker  Hill ;  and  none  know  better  how  to 
keep  alive  a  spirit  of  patriotism  and  celebrate  great  events  than  the 
people  of  Massachusetts.  May  its  future  be  as  prosperous  as  its  past 
has  been  glorious. 

With  assurances  of  respect, 

I  am,  dear  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  LOAGUE,  Mayor. 
19 


146  CENTENNIAL    ANNIVERSARY   OF    THE 

CITY  OF  OMAHA. 
To  His  HONOR  SAMUEL  C.  COBB,  Mayor  of  Boston:  — 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  yours 
of  the  17th  ult.,  informing  me  that  the  committee  appointed  by  the 
City  Council  of  Boston,  to  make  arrangements  for  the  celebration  of 
the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  on  the  17th 
of  June,  1875,  cordially  invites  me,  as  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Omaha, 
to  accept  the  hospitalities  of  your  city  on  that  occasion. 

Since  its  receipt  I  have  been  endeavoring  so  to  arrange  my  official 
duties  and  professional  engagements  as  to  accept  your  most  courteous 
invitation.  I  find  myself,  however,  at  this  late  day,  unable  so  to  do, 
and  am  therefore  most  reluctantly  compelled  to  decline  it. 

The  thought  that  I  might  be  permitted  to  be  with  you  and  witness 
the  patriotic  pageant  of  that  —  the  great  occasion  to  your  city  of  the 
present  century  —  has  afforded  me  as  much  pleasure  as  the  anticipa- 
tion of  being  at  Philadelphia  on  the  4th  of  July,  1876. 

Having  been  raised  on  a  farm  in  the  Old  Granite  State,  one  hun- 
dred miles  from  Boston,  that  city,  was,  during  my  earl}'  boyhood, 
before  railroads,  forty  years  ago,  our  chief  market.  Thence,  each 
winter,  as  soon  as  the  sleighing  permitted,  my  father  —  who,  allow  me 
to  mention  here,  was  born  in  the  same  town,  Cornish,  on  the  ±th  of 
July,  1776  —  took  his  produce  to  exchange  for  family  supplies. 

It  was  the  highest  ambition  of  the  boys  of  my  time  to  visit  Boston, 
and  the  few  who  had  that  privilege  were  envied  by  all  the  others  in 
the  neighborhood.  It  is  now  thirty  }-ears  since  I  have  seen  your  city, 
but  my  early  attachment  to  it,  and  admiration  for  it,  have  never 
ceased.  Jt  is  indeed  a  solid  city,  and  worthy  of  the  good  name  it 
bears  for  intelligence  and  commercial  greatness. 

In  behalf  of  our  young  cit}*,  which  I  know  has  many  strong  friends 
in  Boston,  I  thank  you  and  the  City  Council  of  your  city  for  this 
courtesy  extended  to  Omaha,  and  assure  you  that  the  sons  of  New 
England,  of  whom  there  are  man}'  here,  will  take  a  deep  interest  in 
the  celebration  which  marks  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  —  a  battle  in  which  the  forefathers  of  some  of 
them  participated. 

Allow  me  in  closing  to  offer  the  following  sentiment :  — 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  147 

Bunker  Hill  Monument  and  the  City  of  Boston :  the  one  perpetu- 
ates the  patriotism  of  worthy  sires ;  the  other  illustrates  the  enter- 
prise of  dutiful  sons. 

I  am,  sir,  most  respectfully  yours, 

C.  J.  CHASE. 
MAYOR'S  OFFICE,  OMAHA,  June  5th,  1875. 


ALLENTOWN,  PA.,  June  17th,  1875. 
To  the  MAYOR  OF  BOSTON  :  — 

"We  are  celebrating  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  here,  to-day,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Ladies'  Centennial  Association  of  this  city  and 
county.  Twenty  thousand  people  are  present  on  the  fair  grounds 
participating  in  the  celebration,  and  witnessing  the  reproduction  by 
our  military  of  the  thrilling  scenes  of  that  memorable  event.  "We 
congratulate  you  on  the  procession  at  Bunker  Hill ;  but  Pennsylvania 
claims  as  her  right  a  share  and  interest  in  the  great  issues  which  that 
struggle  helped  to  inaugurate. 

LADIES'  CENTENNIAL  COMMITTEE. 


PHILADELPHIA,  June  17th,  1875. 
To  His  HONOR  THE  MAYOR  OF  BOSTON  :  — 

The  National  Board  of  Trade,  in  session  at  Philadelphia,  pauses, 
in  its  consideration  of  questions  relating  to  the  commercial  and  indus- 
trial interests  of  our  common  country,  and  begs  to  offer  to  Boston,  to 
Massachusetts,  and  to  the  nation  at  large,  its  expression  of  patriotic 
fervor,  its  love  and  devotion  to  the  national  life,  and  its  earnest  hope 
that  those  liberties  which  the  blood  of  Bunker  Hill  helped  to  establish 
may  never  be  abridged. 

By  unanimous  vote  of  the  board. 

FREDERICK  FRALEY,  President. 
CHARLES  RANDOLPH,  Secretary. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  LITERATTJKE  OF  BUNKEB  HILL, 

WITH  ITS  ANTECEDENTS  AND  KESULTS. 
[PREPARED  BT  JDSTIN  WINSOR,  SUPERINTENDENT  or  THE  BOSTON  POBLIC  LIBRARY.] 


[NOTE. — The  following  survey  of  the  literature  of  the 
history  of  Boston  during  the  Revolutionary  period,  beginning 
with  the  excitement  over  the  application  for  "  Writs  of  Assist- 
ance "  in  1761,  and  ending  with  the  transfer  of  the  seat  of 
actual  war,  upon  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  in  March,  1776,  — 
has  been  prepared  to  meet  the  renewed  interest  incident  to 
the  centennial  celebrations.  It  is  not  intended  to  make  refer- 
ence to  all  works,  but  only  to  such  as  are  indicative  in  some 
respect.] 

WRITS   OF  ASSISTANCE,    1761. 

Shortly  after  the  close  ^of  the  French  war,  when  the  British  govern- 
ment was  no  longer  dependent  on  the  friendly  assistance  of  the  col- 
onies, and  revenue  was  to  be  got  from  enforcing  the  acts  of  trade,  the 
application  of  the  agents  of  government  for  "  Writs  of  Assistance" 
was  met  by  James  Otis  in  his  plea  against  the  grant.  Tudor's  life  of 
Otis  makes  that  patriot  the  centre  of  interest  at  this  period,  and  the 
legal  aspects  of  the  case  can  be  studied  in  Horace  Gray's  Appendix 
to  the  Reports  of  cases  in  the  Superior  Court,  1761-1772,  by  Josiah 
Quinc}'.  The  third  volume  of  Hutchinson's  "  History  of  Massachu- 
setts," 1750-1774,  gives  the  governmental  view,' while  in  Minot's 
Historj*,  1748-1765,  the  patriot  side  is  sustained,  and  this  view  is 
represented  in  the  lives  of  Josiah  Quincy,  John  Adams,  and  Samuel 
Adams.  In  its  broad  relations  as  indicating  the  temper  of  the  people 
it  is  discussed  by  Bancroft  in  his  "History  of  the  United  States;" 
by  Hildreth  in  his  "  History  of  the  United  States  ; "  by  Frothingham 
in  his  "  Rise  of  the  Republic  ; "  by  Bany,  in  his  "  History  of  Massa- 
chusetts," etc. 


152  APPENDIX. 

STAMP  ACT,  1765. 

To  the  authorities  named  in  the  preceding  section  may  be  added, 
for  local  coloring,  the  chapters  in  the  histories  of  Boston  by  Drake, 
and  by  Snow.  See  also  ch.  14  of  Tudor's  Otis. 

1767-1775. 

This  period  and  its  patriotic  movements  are  made  the  special  theme 
of  Frothingham's  "  Warren  and  his  Times  ;"  and  in  the  same  author's 
"  Rise  of  the  Republic  "  the  action  of  the  patriots  is  viewed  as  tending 
to  form  the  national  spirit.  A  chapter  in  Tudor's  Otis  is  given  to 
characterizing  the  people  of  Boston  at  this  time ;  and  in  the  collec- 
tion of  contemporary  documents  called  Mies' s  "  Principles  and  Acts 
of  the  Revolution,"  the  spirit  of  the  people  can  be  read  in  their  own 
words  and  writings.  In  Mercy  Warren's  (she  was  a  sister  of 
James  Otis)  "History  of  the  American  Revolution"  we  have  the 
characters  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  patriots  drawn  by  one  who 
knew  them  closely. 

The  influence  of  the  press  is  traced  in  the  third  era  of  Hudson's 
"  History  of  American  Journalism,"  and  the  aspects  can  be  studied  in 
the  files  of  the  five  newspapers  published  in  Boston  at  this  time :  — 

Fleet's  Evening  Post,  patronized  both  by  the  whigs  and  the  govern- 
ment. 

The  Boston  Newsletter,  the  only  paper  which  continued  to  be 
published  during  the  siege. 

The  Massachusetts  Gazette,  the  chief  organ  of  the  government. 

The  Boston  Gazette,  devoted  to  the  patriots. 

The  Massachusetts  Spy,  devoted  to  the  patriots. 

The  most  important  journal  out  of  Boston  was  the  Essex  Gazette. 

For  the  influence  of  the  clergy,  see  Thornton's  "  Pulpit  of  the 
Revolution,"  and  the  "  Patriot  Preachers  of  the  Revolution,"  1860. 

As  before,  the  lives  of  leading  patriots  must  be  consulted,  — Wells's 
"Life  of  Samuel  Adams;"  the  life  and  diaries  of  John  Adams; 
Quincy's  ' '  Life  of  Josiah  Quincy ; "  Austin's  ' '  Life  of  Elbridge  Gerry  ; " 
and  the  general  histories,  like  those  of  the  United  States  by  Bancroft 
and  Hildreth  ;  and  those  of  Massachusetts  by  Minot  and  Barry,  etc. 

The  third  volume  of  Hutchinson's   Massachusetts  still   gives  the 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER   HILL.  153 

tory  view,  and  the  later  British  estimate  of  the  period  is  found  in 
Mahon's  (Stanhope's)  "  History  of  England." 

For  the  local  associations  of  the  Province  House,  Green  Dragon 
Tavern,  etc.,  see  ShurtlefFs  "Description  of  Boston,"  and  Drake's 
' '  Old  Landmarks  and  Historic  Personages  of  Boston." 

BOSTON  MASSACRE,    1770. 

Frothingham,  in  his  articles  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  June  and 
August,  1862,  and  November,  1863,  on  the  "  Sam  Adams  Regi- 
ments," traces  carefully  the  progress  of  events  from  October,  1768, 
which  culminated  in  the  massacre  in  March,  1770,  and  this  matter  is 
epitomized  in  ch.  6  of  his  "Life  of  Warren."  Bancroft  treats 
it  in  all  its  relations,  in  chapter  43  of  his  sixth  volume ;  and  it  is 
the  subject  of  special  treatment  by  Kidder  in  his  "  Boston  Massacre," 
and  in  the  introduction  to  Loring's  "Hundred  Boston  Orators." 
Capt.  Preston,  the  royal  officer  who  commanded  the  soldiers,  was 
defended  at  his  trial  by  John  Adams  and  Josiah  Quincy,  and  the 
lives  of  these  patriots  treat  of  their  defence.  The  accounts  of  the 
trial,  and  the  collection  of  orations  delivered  on  succeeding  anniver- 
saries, are  necessary  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  event. 

See  also  Snow's  "  History  of  Boston,"  the  lives  of  Otis,  Samuel 
Adams,  etc.,  and  the  general  histories. 

Crispus  Attucks,  one  of  the  slain,  usually  called  a  mulatto,  is  held 
to  have  been  a  half-breed  Indian  in  the  American  Historical  Record, 
Dec.,  1872. 

THE  TEA  PARTY,  DEC.,    1773. 

Frothingham,  in  his  "  Life  of  Warren,"  ch.  9,  has  given  the 
details,  and  in  his  "  Rise  of  the  Republic,"  ch.  8,  has  shown  its 
political  significance,  and  has  again  taken  a  general  survey  in  his 
Centennial  paper,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society,  Dec.,  1873.  See  also  the  collections  of  this  Society,  4th 
series,  vol.  m.  In  ch.  2  of  Reed's  "Life  of  Joseph  Reed,"  and  in 
Sparks's  "  Washington,"  the  relations  of  the  patriots  of  Boston  to  those 
of  the  other  colonies  at  this  time  can  be  studied.  Bancroft  gives  to 
it  ch.  50  of  his  sixth  volume ;  and  Barry,  ch.  15  of  his  second  vol- 
20 


154  APPENDIX. 

ume.  Hewes,  an  actor  in  the  scenes,  has  given  an  account  in  his 
"  Traits  of  the  Tea  Party."  There  are  illustrative  documents  in 
Force's  "  American  Archives,"  vol.  i. ;  in  Niles's  "•  Principles  and 
Acts  of  the  Revolution  ; "  and  the  contemporary  accounts  and  records 
have  been  reprinted  from  the  Boston  Gazette  of  Dec.  6,  1773,  by 
Poole,  in  one  of  the  State  Registers. 

See  further  Tudor's  "  Life  of  Otis,"  ch.  21;  Snow's  "Boston;" 
Niles's  Register,  1827,  vol.  xxxin.,  p.  75,  from  Flint's  Western 
Monthly  Review  for  July ,  1827  ;  Lossing  in  Harper's  Monthly,  vol.  iv. 

BOSTON  PORT  BILL,   1774. 

General  Gage  arrived  in  Boston  in  May,  to  put  the  provisions  of 
this  bill  in  force,  June  12.  Its  political  bearings  can  be  traced  in 
Bancroft,  and  in  Frothingham's  Warren,  ch.  10,  and  in  his  "  Rise  of 
the  Republic;"  and  the  military  sequel  in  Frothingham's  "Siege 
of  Boston."  See  also  Tudor's  Otis  ;  Wells's  Samuel  Adams  ;  "  Life 
of  John  Adams  ;  "  "  Life  of  Josiah  Quincy." 

Illustrative  documents  will  be  found  in  Force,  vol.  n.  See  the 
diary  of  Thomas  Newell,  in  Boston,  Nov.,  1773,  to  Dec.,  1774,  in 
Proceedings  of  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Feb.,  1859,  and  in 
their  Collections,  4th  series,  vol.  i.  The  Correspondence  of  the 
Boston  Donation  Committee,  relative  to  the  supplies  sent  to  the 
embargoed  town  from  other  places,  is  given  in  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society's  Collections,  4th  series,  vol.  iv.  For  correspon- 
dence of  the  Boston  patriots  with  those  of  the  other  colonies,  see 
Reed's  "  Life  of  Joseph  Reed." 

The  Suffolk  Resolves,  passed  at  Milton,  Sept.  9,  1774,  can  be 
found  in  the  appendix  to  Frothingham's  Warren. 

1775,   JANUARY  — MARCH. 

For  the  interval  before  the  actual  hostilities  at  Concord,  still  follow 
Frothingham's  "  Siege  of  Boston,"  ch.  2,  and  consult  for  illustra- 
tive documents  Force's  "American  Archives,"  vol.  i.,  where  will  be 
found  Berniere's  narrative  of  his  explorations  towards  Worcester,  to 
get  information  for  General  Gage.  For  particulars  of  Leslie's  expe- 
dition to  Salem,  in  March,  see  Endicott's  article  in  the  Proceedings 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER  HILL.  155 

of  the  Essex  Institute,  vol.  i. ;  and  the  •'  Life  of  Timothy  Pickering," 
vol.  i.  Also,  George  B.  Loring's,  and  other  addresses  at  the  Centen- 
nial Celebration,  1875.  The  contemporary  evidence  relative  to  the 
expedition  to  Marshfield  can  be  found  in  Force's  "  American  Archives." 
E.  E.  Hale's  popular  summary,  "  One  Hundred  Years  Ago," 
begins  with  these  preliminaries  of  war. 

1775,  APRIL,   LEXINGTON  AND   CONCORD. 

The  best  eclectic  account  is  that  in  Frothingham's  "  Siege  of  Bos- 
ton," and  in  his  appendix  will  be  found  a  chronological  list  of  the 
principal  authorities. 

Paul  Revere's  expedition  on  the  night  of  the  18th,  to  give  notice  of 
the  morrow's  march,  which  is  the  subject  of  Longfellow's  poem,  was 
narrated  by  himself,  and  appears  in  the  Collections  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society,  first  series,  vol.  v.  See,  in  this  connection, 
on  the  escape  of  Hancock  and  Adams,  Loring's  "  Hundred  Boston 
Orators,"  and  General  Sumner  in  the  New  England  Historical  and 
Genealogical  Register,  vni.,  p.  188. 

The  narrative  and  depositions  ordered  by  the  Provincial  Congress 
were  printed  in  the  ' '  Journal  of  the  Third  Provincial  Congress,  1 775  ; " 
in  the  London  Chronicle,  and  in  various  Boston  newspapers,  and  the 
whole  reappeared  in  a  pamphlet,  issued  by  Isaiah  Thomas,  and  en- 
titled ' '  A  Narrative  of  the  Incursions  and  Ravages  of  the  King's 
Troops  on  the  Nineteenth  of  April,"  and  is  given  in  Force's  "  American 
Archives."  This  matter  constituted  the  account  sent  by  the  Con- 
gress to  England,  with  the  Essex  Gazette,  which  was  the  chief  news- 
paper narrative,  and  which  reached  London  eleven  days  ahead  of 
General  Gage's  messenger,  and,  in  this  connection,  see  the  Proceedings 
of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  April,  1858.  Other  accounts 
and  depositions,  as  well  as  those  transmitted  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, can  also  be  found  in  Force's  "American  Archives  ; "  in  Froth- 
inghamlB  "  Siege  of  Boston ; "  in  Shattuck's  "  History  of  Concord ; "  in 
Dawson's  "Battles  of  the  United  States  ;  "  in  Frank  Moore's  "  Diary 
of  the  Revolution,"  etc.  The  Rev.  Wm.  Gordon,  May  17,  1775, 
prepared  "  An  Account  of  the  Commencement  of  Hostilities,"  which 
is  reprinted  in  Force,  and  this,  with  additions  and  abridgments, 
forms  part  of  his  "  History  of  the  Revolution." 


156  APPENDIX. 

The  Rev.  Jonas  Clark  delivered  a  discourse  in  Lexington  on  the 
first  anniversary  in  1776,  and  appended  to  it  a  narrative  of  events 
which  has  been  reprinted  in  1875  in  large  quarto.  A  brief  account 
was  also  prepared  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  Emerson,  of  Concord,  a  witness 
of  the  events  at  Concord,  and  this  was  printed  in  R.  W.  Emerson's 
centennial  discourse  in  1835. 

Of  the  British  accounts,  Col.  Smith's  report  will  be  found  in  the 
Appendix  to  Mahon's  (Stanhope's)  England.  Various  English  ac- 
counts are  given  in  Force,  and  in  "  The  Detail  and  Conduct  of  the 
American  War."  General  Gage  sent  to  Governor  Trumbull  a  "  Cir- 
cumstantial Account,"  which  is  printed  in  the  Massachusetts  Histori- 
cal Society's  Collections,  second  series,  vol.  n.,  while  in  vol.  iv.  will 
be  found  a  reprint  of  a  pamphlet  originally  printed  in  1779,  from  a 
manuscript  left  in  Boston  by  a  British  officer,  which  gives  Gage's  in- 
structions to  Brown  and  De  Berniere,  Feb.  22,  1775,  with  an  account 
of  their  journey  to  Worcester  and  Concord,  and  a  narrative  of  the 
"  Transactions"  on  the  19th  of  April.  Stedman's  "  History  of  the 
American  War,"  and  the  other  British  writers  claim  that  the  pro- 
vincials fired  first  at  Lexington ;  and  Pitcairn's  side  of  the  stor}~  is 
given  from  Stiles's  diary  in  Frothingham,  and  in  Irving' s  "Wash- 
ington," etc. 

Late  in  the  day  General  Heath  exercised  a  general  command  over 
the  provincials,  and  his  Memoirs  can  be  consulted.  Col.  Timothy 
Pickering's  Essex  Regiment  was  charged  with  dilatoriness  in  coming 
up,  and  this  question  is  discussed  in  the  "Life  of  Pickering," 
ch.  5  of  vol.  i. 

The  semi-centennial  period  renewed  the  interest  in  the  matter,  and 
the  question,  whether  the  provincials  returned  the  fire  of  the  British 
troops  at  Lexington,  was  discussed  with  some  spirit.  This  having 
been  denied,  a  committee  of  the  town  of  Lexington  authorized  Elias 
Phinney  to  publish  an  account  of  "  The  Battle  of  Lexington,"  to 
which  were  appended  depositions  (taken  in  1822)  of  survivors  to  es- 
tablish the  point.  This  led  the  Rev.  Ezra  Ripley  and  others,  of  Con- 
cord, in  1827,  to  publish  "  The  Fight  at  Concord,"  claiming  the  credit 
of  first  returning  the  fire  for  Concord,  and  this  was  reissued  in  1832. 
In  1835  the  story  was  again  told  in  the  interest  of  Concord,  in 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  157 

Lemuel  Shattuck's  "  History  of  Concord,"  which  was  reviewed  in  the 
North  American  Review,  vol.  xm.  In  this  account,  as  well  as  that 
by  Ripley  and  others,  it  was  claimed  that  the  part  borne  by  Captain 
Davis,  of  Acton  was  not  fairly  represented,  and  Josiah  Adams, 
in  his  centennial  address  at  Acton,  in  1835,  and  again  in  a  letter  to 
Shattuck  in  1850,  presented  the  merits  of  Davis,  and  gave  deposi- 
tions of  survivors.  The  parts  borne  by  other  towns  have  also  been 
commemorated,  for  Danvers,  by  D.  P.  King,  in  1835  ;  for  Cambridge, 
by  Mackenzie,  in  1870  ;  and  also  see  S.  A.  Smith's  "  West  Cambridge 
on  the  19th  of  April,  1775." 

At  Lexington,  Edward  Everett  delivered  an  address  in  1835,  but 
see  also  his  Mount  Vernon  Papers,  No.  47 ;  and  there  is  an  account  of 
the  celebration  in  Niles's  Register,  vol.  XLVIII.,  and  a  plan  of  the  Lex- 
ington field  can  be  found  in  Josiah  Adams's  letter,  and  in  Moore's 
"  Ballad  History  of  the  Revolution,"  No.  1.  See  also  Hudson's 
"History  of  Lexington,"  ch.  6,  and  a  popular  narrative  in  Harper's 
Monthly,  vol.  xx.,  and  accounts  in  association  with  landmarks  in  Los- 
sing's  "  Field-book,"  and  in  Drake's  "  Historic  Fields  and  Mansions  of 
Middlesex."  See  also  R.  H.  Dana's  address  in  1875,  and  the  centennial 
"  Souvenir  of  1775." 

At  Concord,  Edward  Everett  delivered  an  address  in  1825,  and 
much  of  interest  in  connection  with  this  anniversary  was  printed  in 
the  newspapers  of  that  day,  and  Lossing  and  Drake  should  also  be 
consulted  for  much  illustrative  of  the  events  of  1775.  Popular  narra- 
tives can  be  found  in  Frederic  Hudson's  illustrated  paper  in  Harper's 
Monthl}',  Ma}r,  1875,  and  in  the  article  by  G.  Reynolds  in  the  Unitarian 
Review  for  April,  1875.  See  also  George  W.  Curtis's  oration  in 
1875,  and  James  R.  Lowell's  ode,  in  Atlantic  Monthly,  June,  1875. 
Also  the  Rev.  Henry  Westcott's  Centennial  Sermons,  1875. 

The  events  of  the  19th  of  April  also  form  important  chapters  in  Ban- 
croft's "  United  States  ; "  in  Elliott's  "New  England  ; "  in  Barry's  "Mas- 
sachusetts," and  in  other  general  works  on  the  revolutionary  period. 
Also  see  Dawson's  "  Battles  of  the  United  States  ; "  E.  E.  Hale's  "  One 
Hundred  Years  Ago  ; "  and  Potter's  American  Monthly,  April,  1875. 

Amos  Doolittle's  contemporary  engravings  of  the  events  are  repro- 
duced in  a  new  edition  of  Clark's  narrative.  See,  also,  Moore's 


158  APPENDIX. 

"Ballad  History,"  part  1 ;  and  Potter's  American  Monthly,  April, 
1875.  There  is  a  view  of  Concord  taken  in  1776,  in  the  Massachu- 
setts Magazine,  July,  1794. 

An  account  of  Jonathan  Harrington,  the  last  survivor  of  the  fight, 
is  given  in  Potter's  American  Monthly,  July,  1875.  See  also  Los- 
sing's  "Field-book  of  the  Revolution." 

Claims  have  been  raised  for  other  places  as  having  been  the  first 
to  shed  blood  in  the  war,  for  which  see  the  Historical  Magazine,  Jan., 
1869,  and  Potter's  American  Monthly,  April,  1875. 

The  events  of  the  interval  between  Concord  and  Bunker  Hill  can 
best  be  studied  in  Frothingham's  "  Siege  of  Boston."  Particularly 
on  the  affair  at  Noddle's  Island,  May  27,  1775,  see  Force's  "American 
Archives,"  Humphrey's  "  Life  of  Putnam,"  and  a  chapter  in  Dawson's 
"  Battles  of  the  United  States." 

1775,  JUNE    17,   BUNKER   HILL. 

Frothingham,  in  an  appendix  to  his  "  Siege  of  Boston,"  enumerates 
in  chronological  order  the  chief  authoritative  statements  regarding 
the  battle.  Dawson  devoted  the  whole  of  the  June,  1868,  double 
number  of  the  Historical  Magazine  to  a  collation  of  nearly  all  the 
printed  accounts,  authoritative  and  compiled,  and  from  his  foot-notes 
can  be  gleaned  a  full  list  of  articles  and  books  which  at  that  time  had 
been  published. 

The  affairs  of  the  19th  of  April  had  among  other  results  precipitated 
the  removal  of  the  newspapers  published  in  Boston  to  other  places, 
and  the  number  for  April  24  was  the  last  of  the  Evening  Post  pub- 
lished in  Boston.  Edes's  Boston  Gazette,  which  was  thus  removed 
to  Watertown,  the  seat  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  gave,  in  its  issue 
for  June  19,  the  earliest  account  of  the  battle  which  appeared  in  print. 
The  Massachusetts  Spy,  which  had  been  removed  to  Worcester  in 
May,  had  its  first  account  in  its  number  for  June  21.  That  same  day 
the  Connecticut  Journal  had  its  first  intelligence,  and  though  it  was 
several  days  later  before  the  New  York  papers  published  accounts,  on 
this  same  21st  a  handbill  with  the  news  was  circulated  in  New  York. 
In  F.  Moore's  "Diary  of  the  American  Revolution,"  there  will  be 
found  a  list  of  the  contemporary  newspapers  publishing  these  accounts, 


BATTLE   OF   BUKJOJR  HILL.  159 

and  from  which  he  derives  in  part  the  matter  of  his  book,  which  begins 
Jan.  1,  1775.  Many  of  these  accounts  will  be  found  reprinted  in 
Dawson's  Historical  Magazine  article ;  and  some  of  them  have  been 
reproduced  in  fac-simile  in  the  centennial  memorials  of  the  present 
3*ear.  Frothingham  reprints  that  of  the  Massachusetts  Spy  in  his 
recent  condensed  narrative  of  the  battle,  and  it  is  in  fac-simile  in  the 
"  Centennial  Graphic."  Almon's  Remembrancer,  London,  was  begun 
June  15,  1775,  for  gathering  from  English  and  American  sources  the 
fugitive  and  contemporary  accounts. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Thacher  was  a  spectator  of  the  action,  from  the 
north  side  of  the  Mystic  river,  and  within  a  fortnight  afterwards,  and 
depending  in  some  measure  upon  Prescott's  assistance,  prepared  an 
account,  the  manuscript  of  which  is  now  preserved  in  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society's  collection  at  Worcester.  This  had  been  used 
by  Frothingham  and  others,  but  was  never  printed  in  full  with  all  its 
corrections  indicated,  till  Dawson  included  it  in  his  appendix  in  1868. 
This  narrative  of  Thacher's  was  made  the  basis  of  that  which  the 
Committee  of  Safety  prepared  for  transmission  to  England,  and  this 
latter  narrative  is  given  with  much  other  matter  in  "  The  Journal  of 
the  Third  Provincial  Congress,  1775,"  and  has  been  reprinted  by 
Ellis  (in  1843),  Frothingham,  Swett,  Dawson,  etc.  Force's  "Ameri- 
can Archives,"  vol.  iv.,  is  another  repository  of  these  and  various 
other  contemporary  accounts,  several  of  which  are  copied  by  Dawson 
in  his  "Battles  of  the  United  States,"  as  well  as  in  his  Historical 
Magazine  article  ;  and  by  F.  Moore  in  his  ' '  Ballad  History  of  the 
American  Revolution,"  part  2.  Colonel  Prescott's  own  account  is 
contained  in  a  letter  dated  August  25,  1775,  and  addressed  to  John 
Adams,  and  this  can  be  seen  in  Frothingham,  where  it  was  first  pub- 
lished, and  in  Dawson.  What  is  called  the  "  Prescott  MS.,"  which  is 
said  to  have  been  prepared  in  the  family  of  the  colonel,  and  in  part 
with  his  approval,  was  first  printed  in  full  in  Butler's  "  History  of 
Groton,"  p.  337,  etc.,  and  it  has  been  reprinted  by  Dawson,  p.  437. 
Frothingham  and  Sparks  had  the  use  of  the  manuscript  known  as 
Judge  Prescott's  (son  of  the  colonel)  memoir  of  the  battle  ;  but  it  has 
never  been  printed  in  full.  Contemporary  feelings  will  be  found 
expressed  in  Mrs.  Adams's  letters. 


160  APPENDIX. 

President  Stiles,  then  of  Newport,  kept  a  diary  of  events  at  this 
time,  which  is  preserved  at  Yale  College.  He  first  heard  the  news 
on  the  18th,  and  began  his  account  on  that  day,  to  which  he  added 
from  day  to  day,  as  further  corrected  tidings  reached  him.  This  was 
printed  at  length  for  the  first  time  in  Dawson,  but  has  been  used  by 
Sparks,  Frothingham,  Bancroft,  etc.  This  diary  also  copies  the 
letter  of  Peter  Brown,  dated  June  25,  to  his  mother,  which  is  con- 
sidered by  Frothingham,  who  gives  it,  as  the  most  noteworth}'  de- 
scription written  by  a  private  soldier  engaged  in  the  battle,  and  is 
printed  from  the  original  in  Potter's  American  Monthly,  Juty,  1875. 
Col.  Scammons's  account  of  his  court  martial  is  given  in  the  New 
England  Chronicle,  Feb.  29,  1776,  and  is  reprinted  in  Dawson,  p. 
400.  Governor  Trumbull,  in  a  letter,  August  31,  1779,  gave  a  sketch 
of  the  action,  and  it  is  printed  in  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society's  Collections,  vol.  vi.  Col.  John  Trumbull,  who  afterwards 
painted  the  well-known  picture  of  the  battle,  was  not  in  it,  but  saw 
the  smoke  of  it  from  the  Roxbury  lines,  and  in  his  autobiography, 
published  in  1841,  has  an  outline  narrative.  General  Heath's 
memoirs,  published  in  1798,  have  a  brief  account.  The  narrative  in 
Thacher's  militar}'  journal  is  entered  as  having  been  written  in  July, 
1775.  The  memoirs  of  General  James  Wilkinson,  printed  in  1816 
give,  in  ch.  19,  a  "  rapid  sketch,"  embodying  his  own  knowledge 
and  other  evidence  which  had  reached  him  at  first  hand,  as  he  went 
over  the  field  in  March,  1776,  with  Stark  and  Reed,  and  conferred 
with  Major  Caleb  Stark. 

Other  testimony  of  eye-witnesses  was  gathered  too  long  after  the 
battle  to  be  wholly  trustworthy,  in  1818,  at  the  time  of  the  Dearborn 
controversy,  later  to  be  mentioned,  and  numerous  depositions  were 
taken  from  survivors  attending  the  semi-centennial  celebration,  which 
are  preserved  in  three  large  volumes,  but  are  considered  by  those  who 
have  examined  them  as  of  little  or  no  value.  There  is  a  long  account 
in  the  Columbian  Centinel  of  December,  1824,  and  January,  1825. 
An  account  by  Oliver  Morsman,  "  a  revolutionary  soldier,"  was  pub- 
lished at  Sacket's  Harbor,  in  1830.  Mr.  Needham  Maynard  contrib- 
uted the  recollections  of  a  survivor,  which  were  printed  in  a  Boston 
newspaper  as  late  as  1843. 


BATTLE    OF  BUNKER   HILL.  161 

Of  the  British  accounts,  the  entries  in  Howe's  orderly  book  are 
given  in  Ellis's  sketch,  1843  edition.  The  Gentleman's  Magazine  of 
the  same  year  (London)  gave  an  account,  with  a  somewhat  erroneous 
plan  of  the  redoubt,  which  has  been  reproduced  iu  Frothingham's 
monographs.  General  Gage's  official  report  was  printed  in  Almon's 
"  Remembrancer,"  accompanied  with  strictures  upon  it,  and  it  has  been 
reprinted  by  Ellis  (1843  ed.  with  the  strictures),  Force,  Swett,  Froth- 
ingham ;  by  Dawson,  in  his  Historical  Magazine  and  in  his  "  Battles  ; " 
in  Frank  Moore's  "Ballad  History,"  etc.  Burgoyne  saw  the  action 
from  Copp's  Hill,  and  his  letter  to  Lord  Stanley,  dated  June  25,  1775, 
has  also  been  given  in  Dawson ;  in  Ellis's  ed.  of  1843  ;  in  the  New 
England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  April,  1857;  in  an 
appendix  in  Pulsifer's  sketch  of  the  battle,  issued  two  or  three  years 
since,  and  is  also  given  in  S.  A.  Drake's  "Bunker  Hill;  the  story 
told  in  Letters  from  the  Battlefield ;"  in  which  also  will  be  found, 
together  with  various  other  minor  British  accounts,  the  "  Impartial 
and  Authentic  Narration,"  originally  published  at  London,  1775,  by 
John  Clarke,  "  a  first  lieutenant  of  marines,"  who  gives  what  purports 
to  be  a  speech  of  Howe  to  his  troops  previous  to  the  advance,  which, 
with  much  else  in  this  somewhat  extended  narrative,  is  considered 
rather  apocryphal.  The  compiled  account  in  the  Annual  Register  has 
been  thought  to  have  been  written  by  Burke.  Force,  Ellis's  ed.  of 
1843r  and  Dawson,  gather  various  of  the  contemporary  royalist 
accounts,  and  some  particulars  can  be  found  in  the  separate 
historic  records  detailing  the  careers  of  some  of  the  royal  regiments  in 
the  action,  like  the  Fourth,  Fifth,  Tenth  Foot,  etc.  Moorsom's  Fifty- 
second  regiment  gives  a  brief  account  of  its  share  in  the  battle,  with 
plates  of  their  uniform  at  the  time.  See  also  Sergeant  Lamb's 
(Welsh  Fusileers)  "  Journal  of  Occurrences  during  the  late  American 
War ; "  and  the  "  Detail  and  Conduct  of  the  American  War,"  fora  letter 
from  Boston,  July  5,  1775,  and  other  British  accounts.  The  British 
accounts  first  took  regular  shape  in  Stedman's  ' '  History  of  the  American 
War,"  published  in  1794.  Howe's  conduct  of  the  battle  is  criticised  in 
Lee's  "  Memoirs  of  the  War  in  the  Southern  Department."  Mahon's 
(Stanhope)  "History  of  England  "  represents  in  his  account,  otherwise 
fair,  that  the  Americans  then,  and  since,  have  considered  the  battle  a 
21 


162  APPENDIX. 

victory;  but  when  called  upon  to  substantiate  such  an  assertion 
relied  chiefly  (see  his  appendix)  on  the  reports  of  British  tourists  of 
a  subsequent  day. 

In  1858,  Mr.  Henry  B.  Dawson  published  a  popular  account  of  the 
u  Battles  of  the  United  States,"  giving  a  chapter,  based  6n  the  ordi- 
nary authorities,  to  Bunker  Hill.  In  1868,  in  the  Historical  Maga- 
zine, an  American  periodical,  then  edited  by  him,  he  gave  a  special 
study  of  the  battle,  in  which  the  "  colonists"  of  the  earlier  work 
became  "  insurgents,"  and  the  royal  troops  were  represented' as  fight- 
ing "  in  support  of  the  constitution,  the  laws,  the  king  and  the  gov- 
ernment, and  in  defence  of  the  life  of  the  nation."  Differing  from 
other  authorities,  he  represents  that  the  attack  along  the  beach  of  the 
Mystic  was  a  preliminary  attack.  He  has  elaborately  collated  the 
various  contemporary  and  later  compiled  accounts,  and  has  appended 
numerous  illustrative  documents  by  English  and  American  writers, 
derived  from  Almon,  Force,  Ellis,  Frothingham,  and  others,  to  which 
he  adds  several  printed  for  the  first  time.  The  fac-similes  of  Page's, 
De  Berniere's  and  Dearborn's  maps,  which  are  mentioned  in  his  text 
as  given  with  his  account,  were  never  appended  to  it. 

Of  the  more  extended  descriptions,  that  in  Frothingham's  "  Siege 
of  Boston  "  is  distinctively  marked  for  its  dependence  chiefly  upon 
contemporary  accounts,  and  its  avoidance  of  the  mingled  recollections 
and  self-deceptions  of  the  survivors  of  all  grades,  who,  in  1818,  fur- 
nished so  many  depositions,  over  forty  years  after  the  conflict,  to 
perplex  the  truth-lover.  These  confused  recollections,  added'  to  the 
local  jealousies  of  the  partisans  of  the  troops  of  Massachusetts,  New 
Hampshire  and  Connecticut,  and  to  the  facts  narrated  by  different 
persons  as  having  taken  place  in  positions  so  disconnected  as  the 
redoubt  and  the  rail-fence,  have  done  much  to  render  the  sifting  of 
evidence  very  necessary ;  and  it  all  gave  some  ground  for  Charles 
Hudson,  in  1857,  in  his  "  Doubts  concerning  the  Battle  of  Bunker 
Hill"  [see  also  Christian  Examiner,  vol.  XL.],  to  attempt  a  logical  ' 
venture  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  Whatelej-'s  famous  argument  on 
the  non-existence  of  Napoleon.  When,  later,  Frothingham  wrote  the 
"Life  of  Joseph  Warren,"  he  took  occasion  to  summarize  his  longer 
narrative  in  a  chapter  of  that  book,  and  his  whole  description  has  again 


BATTLE   OF  BUNKER  HILL.  163 

been  recast  in  a  popular  form  in  his  recent  centennial  "Bunker  Hill," 
where  he  has  added  much  new  matter,  in  letters,  incidents,  etc. 

Anniversary  addresses  have  often  rehearsed  the  story,  occasionally 
adding  a  few  details  to  our  stock  of  information,  and  the  most  signifi- 
cant among  them  have  been  Webster's,  in  1825  [see  also  Analectic 
Magazine,  vol.  xi.],  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Monu- 
ment; Alexander  H.  Everett's,  in  1836,  which  subsequently  was  in- 
woven in  his  life  of  Warren,  in  Sparks's  series  ;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Geo.  E. 
Ellis's,  in  1841,  which  was  subsequently  issued  in  1843,  anonymously, 
as  a  sketch  of  the  battle,  with  an  appendix  of  illustrative  documents, 
some  of  which  were  printed  for  the  first  time,  and  has  again,  in  1875 , 
been  recast  in  a  centennial  history  without  the  illustrative  documents  ; 
but  see  also  his  account  in  the  New  York  Herald,  June  8,  1875  ;  that 
~by  Edward  Everett,  and  that  by  Judge  Devens  in  1875.  A  succinct 
narrative  of  the  battle  was  also  once  or  twice  printed  by  Alden  Brad- 
ford, in  connection  with  his  studies  in  the  history  of  Massachusetts. 
A  recent  "  New  History  of  the  Battle,"  by  W.  W.  Wheildon,  traces 
two  separate  engagements  constituting  the  battle.  The  last  two  or 
three  years  have  produced  condensed  summaries,  like  that  of  Pulsifer, 
and  S.  A.  Drake's  ;  that  by  James  M.  Bugbee,  in  Osgood's  Centennial 
Memorial ;  an  article  by  H.  E.  Scudder,  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly, 
July,  1875  ;  one  by  Launce  Poyntz,  in  the  Galaxy,  July,  1875.  It  also 
makes  ch.  4  of  E.  E.  Hale's  "  One  Hundred  Years  Ago,"  and  the 
story  is  retold  in  the  Centennial  numbers  of  Frank  Leslie's  Pictorial, 
in  the  "  Centennial  Graphic,"  and  in  various  other  popular  memorials 
of  1875.  The  story  is  also  told  discursively  in  the  illustrated  paper, 
by  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Osgood,  in  the  July  (1875)  number  of  Harper's 
Monthly ;  and  with  particular  refererence  to  landmarks,  in  Lossing's 
"  Field-book  of  the  Revolution,"  vol.  i.,  which  account  also  appeared 
in  the  first  volume  of  Harper's  Monthly ;  in  S.  A.  Drake's  "  Historic 
Fields  and  Mansions  of  Middlesex."  Finch,  in  an  article  in  Silliman's 
Journal,  1822,  gave  an  account  of  the  traces  then  existing  of  the 
works  of  the  British  and  Americans  in  the  siege  of  Boston,  and  this 
has  been  reprinted  by  Frothingham. 

The  battle  has  necessarily  given  a  subject  to  chapters  in  the  gen- 
eral histories  of  the  war  and  of  the  State.  The  earliest  American 


164  APPENDIX. 

historian  of  the  war  was  Gordon  [see  Loring  on  Gordon's  History 
in  Historical  Magazine,  February  and  March,  1862],  and  he  followed 
clo  sely  the  account  of  the  Committee  of  Safety.  Ramsay's  ' '  American 
Revolution"  was  published  in  1789;  Mrs.  Mercy  Warren's,  later; 
Hubley's,  in  1805.  Bancroft  gives  to  it  the  38th  chapter  of  his  seventh 
volume.  It  is  described  in  ch.  20  of  the  second  volume  of  Elliott's 
"New  England,"  and  in  the  third  volume  of  Barry's  "Massachu- 
setts." The  biographers  of  Washington,  like  Marshall  and  Irving, 
needed  to  describe  it  as  leading  to  the  consolidation  of  the  army  of 
which  he  took  command  on  the  3d  of  July  next  following.  There  is 
a  brief  account  in  Tudor's  "  Life  of  Otis."  The  memoirs  of  Heath 
have  already  been  mentioned,  and  the  lives  of  other  observers  and 
participants  will  give  occasional  minor  details. 

For  the  part  borne  by  New  Hampshire  troops,  see  the  memoirs  of 
Stark,  and  Edward  Everett's  "  Life  of  Stark."  Stark's  report  to  the 
New  Hampshire  congress  is  in  the  New  Hampshire  Historical  Society's 
Collections,  vol.  n. ;  inEllis's  ed.  of  1843,  etc.  The  adjutant-general 
of  New  Hampshire,  in  his  report  for  1866,  second  volume,  rehearses 
the  military  history  of  that  State,  and  gives  some  details  regarding 
the  troops  of  that  province  which  were  engaged.  The  manuscripts  in 
the  adjutant-general's  office  (New  Hampshire) ,  containing  the  rosters 
of  Stark's  and  Reed's  regiments,  have  never  been  printed  in  full.  C. 
C.  Coffin,  in  a  letter  in  the  Boston  Globe,  June  23,  1875,  epitomizes 
the  service  of  New  Hampshire  troops  in  the  battle  ;  and  details  will 
be  found  in  the  New  Hampshire  Provincial  Papers,  vol.  vn. ;  in  the 
histories  of  the  towns  of  Hollis,  whence  came  Capt.  Dow's  company 
of  Prescott's  regiment ;  of  Manchester,  by  Potter,  whence  came  Capt. 
John  Moore's  company  of  Stark's  regiment ;  and  of  New  Ipswich. 
See  also  the  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  vol. 
xxvn.,  p.  377,  etc. 

The  question  of  the  highest  command  in  the  'battle  has  given  rise  to 
much  controversy.  In  many  of  the  unauthoritative  contemporary 
accounts,  particularly  in  the  British  ones,  Warren  is  represented  as 
the  commander.  Putnam  is  known  to  have  been  the  adviser  of  the 
expedition  in  the  Council  of  War,  and  in  the  less  authoritative 
accounts  of  the  time  is  represented,  as  also  in  engravings,  as  the 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  165 

responsible  director.  Gordon,  in  his  history  in  1788,  was  the 
earliest,  in  print,  to  give  the  command  to  Prescott,  following  the 
Committee  of  Safety's  account.  The  earliest  printed  direct  mention 
of  Putnam  as  commander  is  in  a  note  to  the  sermon  preached  at  his 
funeral  by  Rev.  Josiah  Whitney,  in  1790,  where  he  took  exception  to 
Humphrey's  statement  in  his  "  Life  of  Putnam,"  1788,  published  while 
Putnam  was  still  living,  in  which  no  mention  is  made  of  Putnam 
having  commanded.  Eliot,  in  Tiis  "  Biographical  Dictionary,"  in  1809, 
represents  Prescott  as  commanding  in  the  redoubt,  and  Stark  at  the 
rail-fence.  The  earliest  reflection  upon  the  conduct  of  Putnam  in  the 
action  appeared  in  General  Wilkinson's  memoirs,  which  were  pub- 
lished in  1816,  and  were  reviewed  in  the  North  American,  October, 
1817.  The  Analectic  Magazine  for  February  and  March,  1818,  had 
articles  on  the  battle,  following  chiefly  the  accounts  of  Thacher  and 
Gordon,  but  with  some  important  differences,  and  giving  documents 
in  the  latter  number. 

General  Henry  Dearborn,  who  was  a  captain  in  Stark's  regiment  at 
the  rail-fence,  opened  a  controversy,  not  yet  ended,,  and  which  at  that 
time  soon  got  to  have  a  political  bearing,  when  he  printed  his 
communication  in  the  Portfolio  for  March,  1818,  in  which  he  aimed 
to  show  that  during  the  battle  Putnam  remained  inactive  at  the  rear, 
and  this  paper  has  since  been  reprinted  separately ;  and  twice  in  the 
Historical  Magazine,  August,  1864,  and  June,  1868,  p.  402. 
Colonel  Daniel  Putnam,  the  son  of  the  general,  replied  to  Dearborn 
in  the  May  number  of  the  Portfolio,  and  appended  numerous  deposi- 
tions, all  of  which  have  been  reprinted  in  Dawson,  p.  407. 

This  reply  of  Daniel  Putnam  led  General  Dearborn  to  vindicate  his 
former  statement  by  the  publication  in  the  Boston  Patriot  of  June 
13,  1818,  of  various  depositions  and  confirmations  of  other  partici- 
pants, all  of  which  may  also  be  found  in  Dawson,  p.  414.  At  this 
time,  Daniel  Webster,  in  the  North  American  Review,  July,  1818, 
vindicated  the  character  of  Putnam,  but,  examining  the  evidence 
judicially,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  Prescott  commanded  the 
fatigue  party  during  the  night,  and  on  the  subsequent  da}"  exercised  a 
general  command  over  the  field  so  far  as  he  could,  and  should  be 
considered  the  commanding  officer,  and  as  acting  under  the  orders  of 


166  APPENDIX. 

General  Ward,  at  Cambridge,  only,  and  to  whom  he  made  report  of 
the  action  after  it  was  over.  See  also  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society  for  June,  1858. 

Judge  John  Lowell  next  reviewed  Dearborn's  defence  of  his 
attack  on  Putnam  in  the  Columbian  Centinel  for  July  4  and  15,  1818, 
and  strengthened  his  points  with  counter-depositions  of  actors  in  the 
struggle,  all  of  which  is  again  given  in  Dawson,  p.  423.  Colonel 
Swett  now  entered  into  the  controversy  in  an  "  Historical  and  Topo- 
graphical Sketch  of  Bunker  Hill  Battle,"  which,  in  October,  1818,  was 
appended  to  an  edition  of  Humphrey's  "  Life  of  Putnam,"  and  this 
sketch  was  subsequently  published  separately  and  with  enlargements, 
derived  in  part  from  conversations  with  the  survivors  who  attended 
the  semi-centennial  jubilee  of  1825,  and  this  appeared  in  1826,  and 
aganHn  1827  ;  but  see  Sparks's  notice  in  the  North  American  Review, 
vol.  xxii.  Meanwhile,  Col.  Daniel  Putnam,  in  1825,  recapitulated 
his  views  in  a  communication  to  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Associa- 
tion, and  this  document  is  printed  in  the  Connecticut  Historical  Collec- 
tions, vol.  i.  The  account  of  Swett  has  been  substantially  followed 
in  Eand,  Avery  &  Co.'s  "Bunker  Hill  Centennial."  Swett's  first 
publication  was  criticised  by  D.  L.  Child,  in  the  Boston  Patriot, 
November  17,  1818,  who  claimed  that  Putnam  was  not  in  the  battle, 
and  whose  article  was  reprinted  as  an  "  Enquiry  into  the  Conduct  of 
General  Putnam."  On  the  other  hand,  Alden  Bradford,  in  his 
pamphlet,  in  1825,  claimed  the  command  for  Putnam.  In  1841, 
Ellis,  in  his  oration,  and  subsequently  in  his  "  History  of  the  Battle," 
in  1843,  taking  advantage  of  intercourse  with  Prescott's  descendants, 
made  the  first  extended  presentation  of  Prescott's  claims,  to  which 
Col.  Swett  demurred  in  the  Boston  Advertiser,  where  also  can 
be  found  Ellis's  rejoinder.  Again,  in  1843,  John  Fellows,  in  his 
"  Veil  Removed,"  animadverted  upon  Swett's  views  regarding  Put- 
nam, and  reproduced  Dearborn's  statements  and  many  others  aimed 
to  detract  from  Putnam's  fame. 

When  Frothingham's  "  Siege  of  Boston "  appeared  in  1849,  in 
which  the  question  of  the  command  was  critically  examined,  p.  159, 
etc.,  giving  that  power  to  Prescott,  Swett  renewed  the  controversy  in 
a  critique  on  that  work  in  1850,  with  a  tract,  "Who  was  the 


BATTLE    OF   BKER   HILL.  167 

Commander,"  etc.,  to  which  Frothingham  replied  in  a  pamphlet  of 
fifty-six  pages,  "  The  Command  in  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill," 
substantiating  his  position,  and  pointing  out  the  inconsistencies 
and  seeming  perversions  of  Swett.  In  1853,  Irving,  in  his  "  Life  of 
Washington,"  favored  Prescott.  In  1855,  L.'  Grosvenor,  in  an 
address  before  the  descendants  of  General  Putnam,  "exposed"  (as 
he  claimed)  "  the  ungenerous  conduct  of  Colonel  Prescott  toward 
General  Putnam,  the  commander  in  the  battle."  When  Bancroft,  in 
1858,  published  his  seventh  volume,  he  took  the  ground,  already 
foreshadowed  in  a  lecture  which  he  had  delivered,  that  Prescott 
commanded  the  provincials.  In  1859,  "  Selah,"  of  the  Hartford 
Post,  favoring  Putnam,  had  a  controversy  with  Dawson,  who  held 
Putnam  to  have  been  a  "  blusterer  and  swaggerer,"  and  intimates  he 
was  also  treacherous ;  and  this  was  reprinted  in  an  unpublished 
quarto,  "  Major  General  Israel  Putnam."  Again,  in  Putnam's  favor, 
the  Hon.  H.  C.  Deming  delivered  a  discourse  before  the  Connecticut 
Historical  Society  on  the  presentation  of  Putnam's  sword,  and  it  was 
repeated,  June  18,  1860,  at  Putnam's  grave,  at  Pomfret,  before  the 
Putnam  Phalanx.  The  argument,  as  regards  the  claims  of  Putnam, 
was  presented  by  the  Rev.  I.  N.  Tarbox,  in  the  New  York  Herald, 
June  12  and  14,  1875,  and  in  the  New  Englander,  April,  1875.  S. 
A.  Drake's  "  General  Israel  Putnam,  the  Commander  at  Bunker 
Hill,"  argues  on  the  basis  of  military  rule,  and  summarizes  the 
authorities.  See  also  Hollister's  "  History^  of  Connecticut,"  and 
Hinman's  "  Connecticut  in  the  Revolution."  Judge  Devens's  oration 
at  Bunker  Hill,  1875,  favors  Prescott.  Wheildon's  "  New  History" 
favors  Putnam.  A  pamphlet,  "  Col.  William  Prescott,"  by  Francis 
J.  Parker,  issued  since  the  centennial  celebration,  presents  the  case 
anew  in  favor  of  that  officer. 

In  1825,  when  General  W.  H.  Sumner  was  adjutant-general  of 
Massachusetts,  and  it  devolved  upon  him  to  arrange  for  the  appear- 
ance of  the  veterans  in  the  celebration  of  that  year,  he  collected 
from  the  recitals  of  some  of  them  some  particulars  regarding  the 
appearance  and  death  of  Warren,  and  held  some  correspondence 
with  Dr.  Waterhouse  on  the  subject  in  the  Boston  Patriot,  in  August 
of  that  year.  This  matter  he  reproduced  in  a  paper  in  the  New  Eng- 


168  APPENDIX. 

land  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  April  and  July,  1858.  See 
further  the  accounts  in  Loring's  "  Hundred  Boston  Orators  ; "  in  Mrs. 
J.  B.  Brown's  [Warren's  grand-daughter]  "  Stories  of  General 
Warren ; "  in  Dr.  John  Jeffries'  [son  of  the  ro3'al  surgeon  on  the 
field]  paper  in  the  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  June  17, 
1875 ;  and  in  the  life  of  Dr.  John  Warren,  brother  of  the  general. 
See  also  the  eulogy  on  General  Warren  in  1776  by  Perez  Morton, 
and  the  memorial  volume  issued  on  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of 
the  Warren  statue,  and  particularly  Frothingham's  "  Life  of  Warren." 
There  is  an  account  of  the  different  celebrations  in  Charlestown  in 
the  New  York  Herald  for  June  4,  1875. 

There  are  other  papers  on  the  battle  in  the  New  England  Historical 
and  Genealogical  Register,  and  Dawson's  and  Frothingham's  notes 
will  indicate  additional  publications  not  mentioned  here. 

The  earliest  of  the  plans  of  the  action  seems  to  have  been  a  slight 
sketch,  after  information  from  Chaplain  John  Martin,  who  was  in  the 
battle,  drawn  by  Stiles  in  his  diary,  which  is  reproduced  in  Dawson, 
who  also,  as  does  Frothingham,  gives  the  slight  sketch,  made  with 
printers'  rules,  which  accompanied  the  account  in  Rivington's  Gazette, 
August  3,  1775. 

The  careful  plan  made  by  Page  of  the  British  engineers,  based 
upon  Capt.  Montresor's  survey  (which  closely  agrees  with  Felton  and 
Parker's  survey  of  Charlestown  in  1848),  is  much  the  best,  and  it 
shows  the  laj'ing  out  of  Charlestown,  the  position  of  the  frigates,  and 
the  battery  at  Copp's  Hill.  The  successive  positions  of  the  attacking 
force  are  indicated  by  a  superposed  sheet.  This  was  issued  in 
London  in  1776,  and  the  same  plate,  with  few  changes,  was  used  in 
Stedman's  history  in  1794.  The  original  impression  was  re-engraved 
for  Frothingham's  "  Siege,"  and  is  also  given  in  his-  centennial 
narrative. 

The  plan  by  De  Berniere  of  the  Tenth  Royal  Infantry,  on  much  the 
same  scale  as  Page's,  differs  in  some  points  from  it,  is  not  so  correct 
in  the  ground  plan,  and  is  the  first  plan  that  appeared  in  an  American 
engraving,  in  the  Analectic  Magazine,  February,  1818,  where  it  is 
represented  as  from  a  sketch  found  in  the  captured  baggage  of  a 
British  officer,  in  1775.  General  Dearborn  made  some  remarks  on 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER   HILL.  169 

this  plan  in  the  Portfolio,  March,  1818,  which  are  reprinted  in  Daw- 
son,  p.  438.  Dearborn's  subsequent  plan,  as  altered  in  red  on  that 
of  De  Berniere,  was  criticised  upon  the  field  in  June,  1818,  by  Gov- 
ernor Brooks  (who  acted  as  messenger  from  Prescott  to  Ward  in  the 
battle) ,  as  detailed  by  General  Sumner  in  the  New  England  Historical 
and  Genealogical  Register,  July,  1858.  This  map  was  made  the 
basis  of  one  engraved  by  Smith,  and  issued  in  Boston,  at  the  time  of 
the  completion  of  the  Monument,  in  1843. 

A  map  of  Boston,  showing  Charlestown  and  the  field,  with  Bur- 
goyne's  letter  attached,  was  issued  in  London,  and  has  been  repro- 
duced in  fac-simile  in  F.  Moore's  "  Ballad  History  of  the  Revolution," 
part  2. 

There  is  also  an  English  map  of  the  eastern  part  of  Massachusetts, 
dated  London,  September  2d,  1775,  in  which  the  lines  of  march  of 
the  troops  of  the  different  provinces  are  designated  as  they  assembled 
to  the  relief  of  Boston.  This  has  been  reproduced  in  smaller  size  in 
the  "  Centennial  Graphic,"  and  Frothingham  styles  it  "  more  curious 
than  valuable."  In  a  side-sketch,  of  this  same  sheet,  there  is  a  semi- 
pictorial  plan  of  the  battle,  with  the  whole  of  Boston,  and  this  has 
recently  been  fac-similed  in  Wheildon's,  Pulsifer's  and  Bugbee's 
sketches,  and  in  George  A.  Coolidge's  "  Centennial  Memorial." 

Colonel  Swett  made  a  plan  of  his  own,  based  on  Berniere's,  of  about 
the  size  of  Page's,  and  it  was  reproduced  full  size  in  Ellis's  Oration, 
1841 ;  but  the  reproductions  of  it  in  Lossing's  "  Field-book,"  in  Ellis's 
New  York  Herald  article,  June  8,  1875,  and  in  his  History  and  Cen- 
tennial History,  in  Rand,  Avery  &  Co.'s  "Bunker  Hill  Centennial," 
in  George  A.  Coolidge's  "  Brochure,"  in  the  Bunker  Hill  Times,  June 
17,  1875,  and  in  Bugbee's  sketch,  are  reduced  in  size.  Little  regard 
is  paid  in  this  plan  to  the  laying  out  of  the  town  of  Charlestown.  See 
also  the  plan  in  the  English  translation  of  Botta's  "History  of  the 
War  of  Independence." 

Of  contemporary  plans  of  Boston,  that  in  the  Gentleman's  Maga- 
zine, October,  1775,  p.  464,  shows  the  peninsula,  with  "  Charlestown 
in  ruins."  This  is  drawn  from  the  same  original  as  that  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Magazine,  1775,  which  in  the  June  number  has  a  plan 
of  Boston  Harbor,  with  only  one  eminence  delineated  on  the  Charles- 


170  APPENDIX. 

town  peninsula,  which  is  marked  "  Bunk8  H."  The  houses  in  the 
town  are  represented  as  on  fire.  The  London  Magazine,  April,  1774, 
has  a  chart  of  the  coast  of  New  England,  with  a  plan  of  Boston  in  the 
corner,  and  this  plan  was  inserted,  enlarged,  in  Jeffery's  "  Map  of 
New  England,"  Nov.,  1774,  with  also  a  plan  of  Boston  harbor,  and 
was  again  copied  in  Jeffery's  "  American  Atlas,"  1776,  and  a  French 
reproduction  of  it  was  published  at  Paris,  in  1778,  in  the  "Atlas 
Ameriquain  Septentrional." , 

There  are  rude  contemporary  views  of  the  action,  one  of  which  ap- 
peared in  1775,  known  as  Roman's,  represents  Putnam  on  horseback, 
as  in  command,  and  was  reduced  in  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  Sep- 
tember, 1775,  and  this  has  been  heliotyped  in  Frothingham's  centennial 
sketch,  in  Rand,  Avery  &  Co.'s,  and  in  Coolidge's  "  Memorials,"  and  is 
also  reproduced  in  Moore's  "  Ballad  History,"  and  in  the  Bunker  Hill 
Times,  June  17,  1875.  In  Cooking's  poem,  "  The  American  War," 
published  in  London,  1781,  is  a  somewhat  extraordinary  picture, 
which,  with  extracts  from  the  poem,  has  been  reproduced  in  S.  A. 
Drake's  monograph,  and  the  picture  is  also  given  in  Bugbee's  sketch, 
and  in  Coolidge's  "  Brochure."  In  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  Feb., 
1790,  there  is  a  view  of  Charlestown  and  Howe's  encampment  on  the 
hill,  taken  after  the  battle,  and  in  the  Massachusetts  Magazine,  Sept., 
1789,  is  a  view  of  Charles-river  Bridge,  showing  the  configuration  of 
Bunker's  and  Breed's  Hills. 

The  well-known  picture  which  Colonel  Trumbull,  in  1786,  painted 
of  the  battle,  and  of  which  a  key  will  be  found  in  the  New  England 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  vol.  xv.,  and  of  which  there 
is  a  description  in  Trumbull's  autobiography,  gave  the  command  in 
the  redoubt  to  Putnam,  and  a  subordinate  position  to  Prescott,  which 
the  painter  is  said  afterwards  to  have  regretted,  as  indicating  views  on 
the  question  of  command  at  variance  with  the  truth.  A  picture  by 
D.  M.  Carter  represents  Prescott  in  command,  and  this  is  reproduced 
in  Coolidge's  "  Brochure."  For  accounts  of  the  Monument,  see 
Ellis's  edition  of  1843;  Frothingham's  "Siege  of  Boston;"  and 
Wheildon's  "  Life  of  Solomon  Willard." 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  171 

THE   SIEGE   OF   BOSTON,   JUNE,    1775— MARCH,    1776. 

The  siege  of  Boston  began  with  the  return  of  the  British  troops 
from  Concord  on  the  evening  of  April  19,  1775,  and  Putnam  fortified 
Prospect  Hill  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill ;  and  after 
Washington's  taking  the  command,  July  3,  1775,  the  completion  of 
the  lines  about  the  town  was  begun. 

The  fullest  account  of  the  events  succeeding  the  17th  of  June  will 
be  found  in  Frothingham's  "  Siege  of  Boston,"  but  a  general  survey 
of  the  events  will  be  found  in  Bancroft  and  Barry  ;  and  popular  ac- 
counts can  be  followed  in  Dawsou's  "  Battles  of  the  United  States  ;  " 
in  E.  E.  Kale's  "  One  Hundred  Years  Ago,"  and  in  the  general  histo- 
ries. Gordon  gives  details  from  diaries  of  the  times  ;  and  illustrative 
matter  of  contemporary  origin  is  given  in  Almon's  "  Remembrancer  ;  " 
in  Force's  u  American  Archives  ;  "  in  Moore's  "  Diary  of  the  American 
Revolution."  See  also  the  Collections  of  the  Essex  Institute,  vol. 
in. ;  the  diary  of  General  Heath  in  the  camps  at  Roxbury  and  Cam- 
bridge, in  the  Proceedings,  May,  1859,  of  the  Massachusetts  Histori- 
cal Society. 

The  letters  of  Washington,  in  Sparks's  edition,  during  his  stay  at 
Cambridge,  are  of  the  utmost  importance,  as  are  those  of  Joseph 
Reed,  his  military  secretary.  See  also  the  autobiography  of  Col. 
John  Trumbull,  who  was  at  this  time  of  Washington's  militar}- 
family,  and  the  life  of  Dr.  John  Warren  (brother  of  General  Joseph 
Warren) ,  of  the  medical  staff. 

Of  the  associations  of  Washington  with  his  head-quarters  at  Cam- 
bridge, see  Alexander  McKenzie's  article  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly, 
July,  1875  ;  and  Charles  Deane's  paper  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Sept.,  1872;  see  also  June,  1858. 
In  this  connection  see  Rev.  Dr.  Peabody's  oration  at  Cambridge,  July 
3,  1875,  and  the  poem  "  Under  the  Great  Elm,"  by  James  Russell 
Lowell,  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  Aug.,  1875.  Also  much  connected 
with  the  Cambridge  centre,  and  the  left  wing,  can  be  learned  from 
Drake's  "  Middlesex ;  "  and  for  the  whole  line,  in  Lossing's  "  Field- 
book." 

Various  diaries  and  letters  of  contemporaries,  written  during  this 
interval,  have  been  printed,  like  that  of  Dr.  Belknap,  in  the  Cam- 


172  APPENDIX. 

bridge  Camp,  Oct.,  1775,  etc.,  in  Proceedings,  June,  1858,  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Societj* ;  that  of  Paul  Lunt,  in  the  Cam- 
bridge Camp,  May  10  to  Dec.  23,  1775,  in  the  same,  Feb.,  1872  ;  that 
of  Ezekiel  Price,  in  the  same,  Nov.,  1863  ;  the  Andrews  papers  in  the 
same  Proceedings,  July,  1865  ;  the  diary  of  Aaron  Wright,  in  the 
Boston  Transcript,  April  11,  1862;  a  diary  in  the  Historical  Maga- 
zine, Oct.,  1864 ;  letters,  which  had  been  used  by  Frothingham,  but 
were  not  printed  in  full  till  they  appeared  in  the  New  England  His- 
torical and  Genealogical  Register,  April,  1857  ;  and  letters  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  June,  1873  ;  in 
the  American  Historical  Record,  Dec.,  1872. 

On  the  evacuation  in  March,  1776,  there  are  letters  in  the  New 
England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  vm.,  p.  231,  etc.; 
in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  1858. 
Dawson,  in  his  '.'  Battles,"  gives  Howe's  despatch  from  Nantasket 
Roads,  March  21 , 1776  ;  and  Washington's  despatch  of  March  19, 1 776. 
The  appearance  of  Boston  at  this  time  can  be  judged  of  from  a 
plate  representing  the  landing  of  the  British  troops  to  garrison  the 
place  in  1768,  bjr  Paul  Revere,  which  is  reproduced  in  Rand,  Avery 
&  Co. 's  "  Bunker  Hill  Centennial."  There  is  a  view  of  the  harbor 
and  town  in  the  Pennsj-lvania  Magazine,  June,  1773 ;  a  description 
with  a  view  in  the  Columbian  Magazine,  Dec.,  1787  ;  and  one  of  the 
town  from  Breed's  Hill  in  the  Massachusetts  Magazine,  June,  1791  ; 
and  in  July,  1793,  a  large  view  of  the  Old  State  House,  and  for 
another  see  Aug.,  1791 ;  in  July,  1789,  one  of  the  Hancock  House; 
in  March,  1789,  one  of  Faneuil  Hall,  —  all  showing  the  aspects 
of  revolutionary  Boston.  A  view  showing  Dorchester  Heights  is  in 
the  number  for  Nov.,  1790  ;  and  another  of  Boston  from  those  heights, 
in  1774,  is  copied  from  a  contemporary  English  print  in  Lossing's 
"Field-book,"!.,  p.  512. 

Descriptions  of  the  town  and  its  society  at  a  little  later  date  will 
be  found  in  the  letters  of  Anburey,  who  was  one  of  Burgoyne's  offi- 
cers, quartered  at  Cambridge  in  1777  ;  in  Abbe  Robin,  a  chaplain  of 
Rochambeau,  in  1781,  whose  account  is  quoted  by  Shurtleff,  and  trans- 
lated in  the  Historical  Magazine,  Aug.,  1862;  and  in  Chastellux, 
1782,  also  quoted  in  Shurtleff  s  "  Description  of  Boston." 


I 

BATTLE   OF   BUNKER   HILL.  -173 

There  is  a  view  of  Gage's  lines  on  Boston  Neck  in  Frothingham, 
from  a  print  published  in  1777,  and  a  plan  of  them  in  Force's  "  Ameri- 
can Archives,"  and  an  original  plan  reproduced  in  the  "  Centennial 
Graphic."  See  also  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  Aug.,  1775,  for  Gage's 
lines.  A  plan  of  the  fort  erected  by  the  British  on  Bunker  Hill 
proper  is  given  in  Frothingham's  "  Siege,"  from  one  published  in 
London,  in  1781. 

Shurtleff,  in  his  "  Description  of  Boston,"  ch.  6,  gives  a  chapter  to 
the  enumeration  of  maps  of  the  town  and  its  harbor,  some  of  which 
are  of  interest  in  understanding  the  circuit  of  fortifications  erected 
by  the  provincial  forces  at  this  time.  The  best  for  consultation  is  the 
eclectic  map  given  by  Frothingham,  p.  91.  See  also  that  in  Force,  vol. 
in.,  and  the  military  maps  in  Marshall's  "  Washington,"  Sparks's 
"  Washington,"  reproduced  by  Guizot,  Lossing's  "  Field-book,"  etc. 

For  contemporary  maps,  that  in  vol.  i.  of  Almon's  "  Remembran- 
cer," drawn  at  Boston  in  June,  1775,  shows  for  the  field  of  battle,  the 
words  "  Breed's  Pasture,"  which  accords  with  the  belief  that  that 
eminence  was  not  known  as  Breed's  Hill,  till  after  the  battle.  It  is 
not  otherwise  very  accurate. 

The  Gentleman's  Magazine,  Jan.,  1775,  gave  a  chart  of  the  town 
and  harbor. 

The  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  July,  1775,  gave  a  plan  of  Boston, 
with  a  side-sketch  of  the  lines  about  the  town,  which  has  been  repro- 
duced in  Moore's  "Ballad  History,"  and  in  the  Centennial  Memorials 
of  Rand,  Avery  &  Co.,  of  George  A.  Coolidge,  etc.  Col.  Trumbull, 
in  his  autobiography,  gave  a  map  of  the  lines  made  by  himself 
in  Sept.,  1775. 

A  large  map  of  the  town,  with  surrounding  country  and  harbor, 
after  Samuel  Holland's  surveys,  was  published  by  Des  Barres  in 
London,  Aug.  5,  1775.  It  shows  no  fortifications  except  those  at 
Copp's  Hill  and  on  the  Neck.  A  colored  copy  of  this  is  in  the  Boston 
Public  Library,  as  is  also  a  French  map,  1780:  "Carte  particuliere 
du  Havre  de  Boston,  reduite  de  la  carte  anglaise  de  Des  Barres." 
The  1775  plate  of  Des  Barres,  without  change  of  date,  but  neverthe- 
less with  changes  in  some  parts,  and  with  the  various  fortifications 
of  the  siege  delineated,  was  published  again  in  1780-83,  in  the  "  Amer- 


174  APPENDIX. 

lean  Neptune,"  and  it  was  from  the  Hon.  Richard  Frothingham's  copy 
of  this  that  the  reproduction  in  Shurtleff's  "Description  of  Boston" 
was  made  in  1870. 

Faden's  map  of  Boston,  with  the  intrenchment  of  1775,  based  on 
the  observations  of  Page  in  1775,  was  published,  London,  Oct.  1, 
1777,  and  in  a  later  edition,  Oct.,  1778,  and  it  has  been  fac-similed 
in  Frothingham's  "  Siege." 

Roman's  map  of  "  The  Seat  of  Civil  War  in  America,"  1775,  has  a 
rude  view  of  the  lines  on  Boston  Neck,  and  a  plan  of  Boston  and  its 
environs. 

In  1776  there  was  published  by  Beaurain,  at  Paris,  a  "  Carte  du 
Port  et  Havre  de  Boston,"  which  is  copied  from  a  British  plan,  and 
has  in  a  vignette  the  earliest  known  printed  representation  of  the 
Pine-tree  banner.  (This  vignette  is  copied  by  Frothingham,  who 
calls  the  map  "  curious  but  not  correct.")  There  is  also  a  German 
edition  of  the  same. 

In  1777  was  published  Henry  Pelham's  map  of  Boston-  and  envi- 
rons, which  is  called  "  the  most  accurate"  of  all.  It  was  published 
in  London,  June  2,  1777,  shows  the  military  lines,  and  has  been  re- 
produced in  Moore's  "  Diary  of  the  Revolution,"  and  in  Drake's 
"  Landmarks." 

In  1777,  Faden  published  in  London  a  plan  of  Boston  and  vicing, 
showing  the  "  rebel  works,"  and  based  on  Page's  and  Montresor's 
observations. 

The  earliest  of  the  eclectic  maps,  and  the  one  followed  by  later 
authorities  in  assigning  the  location  of  the  military  lines,  was  that 
given  by  Gordon  in  his  history,  who  took  Page's  for  the  town,  and 
Pelham's  for  the  country. 


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